DoctorDalek
by Rihays
Summary: (Sequel to "The Doctor and the Detective" but can be read separately.) The Doctor is slowly being consumed by some terrible disease with no known cure and he is running out of time. His only hope may come at the hands of his very best friends and companions (including some surprise appearances).
1. Two Women

The wall was modeled after an Earth memorial, though given a twenty-fifth century upgrade. If each name was chiseled into the stone, it would extend around the planet over seven hundred forty-three times and be over five miles tall. Instead, it was five hundred feet long, twenty feet tall, divided into panels ten feet wide. The names were digital, changing every five minutes, staggered on every other panel. Trillions of people came to this wall every year, looking for a name. Sometimes you had to wait for days before the name you sought finally came around.

She'd been waiting for nine days for the name to appear. She hadn't slept, hadn't eaten, hadn't relieved herself. After four days, she dared not even blink for fear of missing the name she looked for. All the people and species moving around her didn't bother her anymore; they were merely background noise now. A bump, a jostle, even the occasional rude shove couldn't shake her. That name was close, so very close. She could feel it. And nothing was going to…

A nudge in the back of her mind broke her four-day trance. She blinked and shook her head as a wave of nausea swept over her. No, that was impossible. She was here at this wall because that was impossible. That nudge…

Torn between resuming her wait and looking around, she bit her lip. And turned. Where? The nudge was now firmly planted in her mind, like a sort of radar. Turning, looking, there! In that direction. Oh, but it took her away from the wall. She glanced at the wall as it switched names once more. She had a few minutes…maybe…

The nudge was now firmly planted, like something burrowing into her mind. The person was approaching the wall. Well, of course, why else would anyone be here?

She turned back and tried to be as casual as possible about the wall. But her concentration was broken as the person got closer and closer. She did not move her head, but cast a quick glance to the side. There! She nearly collapsed with relief. The nudge wasn't lying; there she stood, studying the wall, but getting ever closer. After a moment, they were standing side-by-side.

"Looking for someone?" she dared ask.

"Why else would I be here?"

"Right."

They stood in silence. She wondered if the nudge was as bad in her mind, too.

"So, who are you looking for?" the woman wondered innocently.

"My grandfather. You?"

"My father. Sorry, what's your name?"

"Susan. And you?"

"Jenny."

They shook hands. As they touched, it was like an electric shock ran through them. For a moment, images filled their minds. Jenny jerked her hand away.

"Um…sorry," she said, frowning. "Static."

Susan blinked. "Right. Naturally."

They turned their attention back to the wall.

"So, which war?" Susan inquired.

"What?"

"Which war? This is the Veterans of Intergalactic Wars wall, and there are many of them. I've been here for over a week, waiting."

Jenny hesitated. "You'd probably laugh at me."

"No, go on. Which war?"

"The Last Great Time War." She braced herself for ridicule.

"Well, you've certainly come at a convenient time; this is that war going through. I'm actually searching through it as well," Susan told her.

"Oh really? Your grandfather fought in the Time War?"

"On the front lines."

"So did my father." Jenny grinned and nudged her in the ribs. "Maybe they fought together, hm?"

"Maybe."

The names changed again and they diverted everything into scanning the new names. Susan found this woman fascinating; her cluelessness about the whole thing, the War and what it meant, was more curious than irksome.

"It must have been terrible to lose your grandfather," Jenny remarked.

"It was, but I think he's all right. He protected me from it by dropping me off far away and ensuring my safety. Actually, I don't think he ever could have predicted the Time War, but when it happened, I was safe."

"That's nice."

"Yes. But what about your father?"

"I only knew him for one day. And then we…went our separate ways. I've never been able to contact him, don't know how. Everything I know about him is from legends and rumors. Sometimes I'll arrive at a place to learn he had only just left and I'd just missed him. But I keep trying. One of these days, we'll meet again."

Susan smiled. "Yeah, I used to do that. And then I realized, if I don't try, my chances of finding him are much higher. Sounds dumb, but he travels so much, that if I stand in just one spot, he'll eventually drop by."

"I wish it was that easy with my father."

"Can't you just ask around?"

"Well, I could," Jenny admitted, "but standing in one spot just waiting isn't my style. I love going out and travelling, always in his wake. It took forever to find out anything about him, but he is known absolutely everywhere. Myths, legends, religions, all devoted to him."

Susan shook her head. "My grandfather was a bit like that, though he resented it. He tried to be seen as more of a grumpy old man to be passed over in that regard, but his ego and need to be brilliant superseded that."

By now they were speaking but not really actively listening, focused more on the wall as it changed.

"For all my father's brilliance, he just couldn't see the obvious sometimes. Always needing to be secret, hiding his name, his face, but never his brain."

"He liked to pretend to be evil and cunning, but everything had a plan, even if he didn't realize it yet. And it wasn't evil. He was just…sweet with no way to show it. Well, he could have, but he was just so arrogant to think that every other species in the universe would never be able to appreciate properly."

"He tried to erase himself from history several times, but always left a remnant, a single word to spark curiosity, like a figure in the shadows."

"My grandfather never told anyone his real name, but he loved to flaunt himself as-"

"A single word which was so ordinary, so common, and yet could send armies running. He called himself-"

"The Doctor," they said together.


	2. Grandfather

Susan and Jenny glanced at each other.

"The Doctor," Susan breathed.

"Your…" Jenny began. She gave Susan a look. "Your grandfather is the Doctor?"

"Your _father_ is the Doctor?" Susan retorted. "But you're not my mother."

"No, I should think not."

Susan stepped back several feet. "Wait. Hold on just a moment."

"Are we talking about the same Doctor here?" Jenny asked. "Young man, lovely suit and tie, long coat, glasses…"

Susan shook her head and went to stand face-to-face with Jenny. "Please tell me you are for real."

"I'm standing right here."

"No, but, are you a Time Lord?"

Jenny frowned. "I've two hearts, and I was generated from the cells of the Doctor. I was bred for war by a faction who kidnapped new flesh for new chromosomes, but the Doctor…"

"So you don't know anything…about what it means to be a Time Lord. Have you ever seen the home planet?"

"No. It was already gone when I was made. And the Doctor told me I couldn't be a Time Lord. He said that a Time Lord was more than two hearts, it was experiences and-and shared history. But I am his daughter; there is no doubt about that. The Doctor I know is a young man with-"

"Stop, stop," Susan said, stepping back, outside Jenny's personal bubble. "Appearances can change, Jenny. My grandfather was an old man with-with a balding head and a suit. And then he changed. You're saying you don't understand any of this?"

"Like I said, everything I've learned has been through stories. Gallifrey and Time Lords are little more than myths on some worlds, ancient history—at best—on others. And the Doctor is like an angel—of mercy, of vengeance, of death, the story changes from place to place." She opened her mouth, but no words came out for a moment. "You are actually the closest thing I've come to having him in front of me."

Susan folded her arms. "Well, I ought to be."

"But what does it mean?"

"What do you mean 'what does it mean'?"

"What does it mean to be Gallifreyan, to be a Time Lord?"

Susan hesitated.

"Please, Susan. I've only ever heard stories."

"Then maybe it's time to straighten out the stories." A voice rose above the din of the crowd milling around the wall. "Maybe it's time we all sat down and had a cup of tea." A group of men (if such creatures could be called men) not far from Susan and Jenny parted. "Maybe it's time we all took a ride in the Tardis." A man walked through the disgruntled bunch. "Maybe it's time you met the real me."

The man standing before them now was tall and young, with the face of a twelve-year-old, a dashing suit and bow tie.

"Hello, Susan."

The light that suddenly (and figuratively) emanated from Susan could have put any sun to shame. She threw her arms around the man. "Grandfather!"

The Doctor had promised himself no more tears, but at the touch of his granddaughter, all resolve vanished. He held her tight and they buried themselves in each other. As the moment went on, each could feel that it was, all this time, a fixed point. No matter how many universes they visited, they would always and forever reunite.

Eventually they let off, but only enough so they could put their foreheads against each other, telepathically exchanging their lives. They laughed at the happy memories, wept more at the sad, puzzled over ends left loose. Finally, it was over and they stood apart, still reveling in finding each other again.

"You haven't been taking care of yourself, Grandfather," Susan sob-laughed. "Eleven regenerations, shame on you."

"And only four on your part? Susan, you've been living domestically."

"Yes, I did for a while. But then I…well, you know."

The Doctor nodded and glanced at Jenny.

"Jenny," he stated, awed.

"Um, Father," she said awkwardly. "You rhymed."

"Yeah. I'm a poet now. Poets are cool." He approached and studied her eye-to-eye. "But you're alive. How can you be alive? You were shot; you died. What happened?"

He put his forehead against hers. Jenny gasped in surprise as he entered her mind, retraced her life, searching. After a moment, she relaxed and couldn't resist the urge to go through the door he'd opened, back into his mind.

So many memories! Eleven regenerations, hundreds and hundreds of years. Laughs, joys, hurts, pain, it all flooded into Jenny's mind. But it didn't hurt. Now she could feel the true expanse of her mind as she watched and understood. This was the Doctor, her father, in his true, unaltered form. Eventually, their probes met at Messaline, between the humans and the Hath. And then to the craft as Jenny made her escape.

"You lived," the Doctor said as he pulled away and looked her in the eye. "I never knew you lived. I would have felt it."

"Maybe I'm not really a Time Lord after all," Jenny said and shrugged, not meeting his eye.

"No, no," he breathed, pulling her into a tight embrace. "That doesn't matter anymore. You are my daughter. And you're alive."

She hugged him back. After a moment, the Doctor turned and brought Susan into the love. Together they walked away from the wall. Ironically, it then changed to the sequence which included the man the women had been looking for.

"Where are we going?" Susan asked.

"Back to the Tardis, of course," the Doctor told her. "Where else? You do remember the Tardis, don't you?"

"Of course, Grandfather."

He sighed and grinned. "I never knew how much I missed hearing that. Grandfather. Though I hardly look the part anymore."

"What's the Tardis?" Jenny asked.

Even as she said it, the blue box appeared around a corner. Susan ran to it and pressed her cheek against the wood, caressing it like a kitten.

"Time and Relative Dimension in Space," the Doctor announced proudly, withdrawing the key from his pocket and opening the door. "It's how Time Lords travel in style." He ducked inside for only a moment, then popped his head out and glanced at Susan. "Come on, Susan, we haven't got all day."

She grinned. "Yes, Grandfather."

Susan bounded inside with Jenny trailing gingerly behind.

"You've changed the desktop theme!" Susan gasped.

"It's bigger on the inside," Jenny said dumbly.

"Of course it is!" the Doctor said, flipping switches and doodads and clingers and janglers. "And a little redecorating never hurt anyone!"

Pure joy filled Susan as the familiar _vworp-vworp_ of the Tardis started and they began travelling. She touched the railings and the steps like they could suddenly vanish. Jenny leaned against the railing, taking it all in.

Finally, Susan asked, "Grandfather, why did you wait so long? Why come here now to this place to find us?"

The Doctor sat in the chair and put his feet up on the console. "For a long time, I thought I was the only one left. And then there was the Master and that whole thing, and I was left feeling very alone. It wasn't until just a few months ago that I was able to find a loose Time Thread that led to you, Susan. And Jenny…" Said woman glanced up. "Well, my day just keeps getting better and better."

"And now we are going to travel the stars together?" Jenny wondered. "Any place, my choice. Remember?"

"Ah yes." The Doctor grinned, but his eyes betrayed something more.

"Grandfather?"

He put his legs down and leaned forward. His family came up beside him, Susan on one side and Jenny on the other.

"What's wrong?" Susan pressed.

"I need your help."

"Anything," Jenny promised.

"But I need more than just your help; it's going to take the help of everyone we can find."


	3. Revel Roundup

"And stay out!"

Captain Jack hit the road, quite literally, and with his face. As if to reinforce the tender's point, someone ran by and splashed in the puddle not inches from his face, soaking his head. When he stood, the tender was gone and door closed. Well, it wasn't his worst first date, but certainly not the best. Trying to shake some of the muddy water from his hair, he set off down the road. Brilliant neon illuminated the city, even blotting out the light of the sun during the daytime sometimes. The neon was nothing compared to the noise however. For a long-term resident, it was probably nothing (likely due to deafness), but for visitors it could be unbearable.

He ruffled his hair and straightened his jacket and kept walking. He had just fished the keys to his new spaceship from his pocket when a happenstance glance into an alley made him stop.

The blue box. Oh, he knew that box. The door was open and a young man leaned in the frame.

"Hello, Captain."

Jack grinned and fearlessly approached. "Doctor, you changed. Again."

"And you haven't. Still."

Jack followed the Doctor into the Tardis. The Doctor bounded up to the controls, but Jack's attention was suddenly taken by the two women in the room.

"Hello, ladies. Captain Jack Harkness, at your service." He bowed dramatically and they giggled.

"Susan, come here," the Doctor ordered. "Jenny, don't talk to him."

"Oh, come on, Doctor. You certainly keep company these days; can't I keep them, too?" He approached Jenny and kissed her hand.

"Jack, stay away from my daughter."

The captain stopped in the middle of another kiss. He straightened. "Your daughter?"

The Doctor nodded brusquely once from one side of the engine. "Yes, my daughter." He went around to the other side, flipping switches with Susan. "Stay away from her."

Jack awkwardly dropped Jenny's hand and glanced at Susan. But the Doctor didn't miss it. "Susan is my granddaughter, and already married. No on her as well."

"Where did you find them?" he asked incredulously.

The Doctor stopped what he was doing and slowly approached the captain. "I haven't seen my daughter in hundreds of years, my granddaughter in almost a thousand. I lived for centuries thinking them dead. I only learned of Susan's existence through a hunch and a tiny improbable Thread which I followed and discovered both of them. I am not about to lose them again, not ever. And I'll be damned if you lay a hand on them."

They glared at each other. "So why did you call me here? To taunt me or teach me a lesson?"

The Doctor whirled around. "Neither," he admitted, heading back to the controls. "I need your help, Jack. And not just your help and not just theirs. I need a _lot_ of help."

"I'm all yours."

* * *

The tunnels twisted and turned, some passages so narrow she had to carefully chip away at the stone to get through, but trying not to cave any cave-ins. She'd battled mummies and ghosts and all manner of alien and supernatural creatures to get in here; she wasn't about to let a thing like a narrow passageway get in her way. Nor would impossible cliff faces or holes where even her incredibly bright torch couldn't penetrate the gloom.

The caves spoke of some incredible discovery, one so powerful it rivaled the Pandorica for infamy. Well, she just had to check out something like that, didn't she? There. According to the maps she'd scoured and put together, the treasure should be up the cliff face about fifty feet and a cave should be there. It could be incredible golden riches, a devastating weapon, the tomb of an ancient ruler, or even nothing at all.

The climb wasn't difficult, but her heart was racing and palms sweaty as she pulled herself into the cave. Oh, to be the first to lay eyes on such a treasure. She-

"Oh, no," she groaned.

"Hello, sweetie," he said, grinning.

* * *

"She's your new wife?" Susan inquired as the Doctor leapt most ungracefully around the controls.

"Professor River Song," she introduced herself. "Archaeologist, detective, rock climber, and just about anything else you can think of."

"Seems you've been living domestically as well, Doctor," Jack commented.

"Domestic?!" The Doctor cried as he yanked on a lever. "There…" He laughed dryly. "is nothing domestic about that woman. She's gotten me into more trouble than…"

"No, sweetie," River said matter-of-fact as she also took the controls and seemed to undo everything the Doctor did. "I've gotten you _out_ of more trouble."

"Are we going to listen to your flirting all day or are we going to get on with it?" Jack interrupted.

"So, where are we going?" River asked.

"Somewhere distant; we've only got one shot at landing and the door won't be open for very long."

"You'll need me, then."

"And me," Susan said, taking a place beside her step-grandmother.

The Doctor grinned. "Geronimo!"

* * *

Normal life was what everybody else experienced. Oh, they lived in a nice little flat in the city with good jobs and normal neighbors, but they were anything but normal. The things they did and the stories he told. It was anything but normal.

But for now, they were pretending to be normal, walking through park, hand-in-hand. It was gray and chilly and not many people were about, but that was all right. Actually, it was kind of nice. Just walking…doing something normal…

"I'm still not used to this," he said. "This whole…normal progression of events. Cause and effect, it's terrible."

"Yeah, I kind of wish something spectacular would happen."

As if in response to her secret prayer, they heard the sound. They hadn't heard it in years, but it was one that would be forever imprinted in their minds. Other people walking about in the park went on, oblivious, but these two looked around. And there it was, a big blue box in the middle of the park. Big and blue and very, very real.

Without even thinking, they ran toward it, still holding hands. As they touched the door, it opened.

"Doctor!"

"Rose!"

She left him and ran toward the young man who also ran toward her. They embraced. He swung her around and she laughed. When he finally set her down, she studied him. "I missed you. Well, sort of. Not really. I missed the travelling, but I still have you."

The human Time Lord was still standing just inside the door, looking around. His gaze settled on the Doctor. "I regenerated into _you?"_ he said disbelievingly. "What a ridiculous outfit! And you've changed the desktop theme!"

"Hey now, it's my Tardis! I can do what I like."

"And I'm you, so that makes it my Tardis, too."

"No, you are Rose's husband. You are human. That makes you…" The Doctor poked the metacrisis in the chest. "-a passenger." He turned.

"I am not!"

"John, please," Rose said, grabbing his hand before he could storm after him.

"John, is it?" the Doctor said, now turning but walking backward up to the console. "John Smith, am I right?"

"And his lovely wife, Rose," Rose told him.

"I got married!"

"Yes, you did."

"No, I mean, twice!"

Rose gave him a look as the Doctor put his arm around River.

"You got married?" Rose wondered.

"Yes, I did. Twice."

"I don't get it."

"We'll talk later. Right now, we have to get going. Time is of the essence. Come on."

The Doctor, River, Susan, and "John" all took up positions around the console while Jack, Jenny, and Rose stayed back against the railing.

"You still haven't told us why you've brought us all here," Jack pointed out.

The Doctor did not look up from his work, but answered, "Jack, under what circumstances would I ever seek to bring everyone together? More than that, why would I risk the safety of an entire universe to fetch two people?"

"Oh my God," River said, pausing in her work. "You did something to reality again, didn't you?" She straightened. "What did you do, Doctor?"

"Nothing," he told her. "Why do you automatically assume something's wrong with reality? No, reality is fine."

"So then why are we here?" Rose inquired.

The Doctor hesitated. "Me. I'm dying. And I would really rather not."


	4. Straight Line Time

"Dying?" River echoed.

"You can regenerate," Susan reminded him lamely.

"Not this time, Susan," the Doctor told her. "Not this time."

"What happened?" Jenny asked.

The Doctor rubbed his eyes and fell onto the little seat against the railing. "I showed you, but I guess I ought to explain it to the others."

For a moment, as the other passengers got comfortable around the railing, all that could really be heard were the Tardis engines.

"Some time ago, I was captured by the Daleks. They tortured me in ways I would rather not go into. But the last thing they did was put a branding iron to the back of my shoulder." At this, Susan gasped and River couldn't stop her lips from parting in a silent breath. "I did partially regenerate to heal the other wounds, but the brand remains. I ran into one of the Daleks shortly after my escape and he told me that I had been marked, and the Daleks would follow. I thought it was an empty threat."

"Until?" Rose prompted.

"Oh, it twitched and stung a bit, but it never really bothered me. Then, a few months ago, I realized I had trouble moving my shoulder and arm and my back hurt."

"So?" John asked. "You seem to be moving all right now."

"Only after heavy medication, continuous low-level regeneration, a smiling face and gritted teeth."

"I thought you said there was no regeneration," Jack said.

"I can't make it stop, but it does help with the pain and movement."

"Let's see it," River commanded.

The Doctor glanced at her, but sat up. He undid his bow tie, took off his jacket, shrugged off his suspenders, and unbuttoned his shirt. Carefully, he took one arm out of the sleeve and bared his shoulder to the world. No one could suppress a gasp at the sight.

The brand was still there, burned pink and white and lines as sharp as a tattoo. It was undoubtedly that of a Dalek, the true Dalek—the tentacle-y little menace within the impervious casing. But the flesh around the brand was blackened, dead, and rotting. It covered almost his entire shoulder blade and shoulder. Immediately, everyone who had a scanner whipped it out to start scanning.

"How did this happen?" John demanded.

"The brand implanted a tiny probe under my skin. After a given time, it would active and start killing off the flesh around it."

"Why didn't the Tardis detect it?" Rose asked.

"It's an assimilating probe," River reported.

"A what?" Jenny wondered.

"An assimilating probe," Jack explained with a quick glance at the Doctor. "It adheres to the thing it's implanted in, like a parasite. It becomes part of the host, even taking on elements of its DNA so as to be a part of the host. The Tardis scanners may have originally dismissed it as a mole or a zit. Only after the probe is activated does it really become 'noticeable.'"

"How long have you had this?" Rose inquired.

"A hundred years, give or take."

"And how long ago did you say this thing activated?" River asked.

"A few months. Why?"

"Because I'm detecting something even smaller tucked inside the probe."

"Yeah…" Jack confirmed, reading his own scanner results. "A tracking device. And from the looks of things, it's been transmitting for a while."

"At least thirty-seven years," John continued.

"Transmitting where?" Susan jumped in.

"Impossible to tell from these scans," Jack told her. "We need more than these little things."

"Right then." River grabbed the Doctor's elbow and got him to his feet. "Come along, Doctor. One of you, grab his clothes and bring them to the medical bay."

That person was Jenny, snatching up the jacket and bow tie and hurrying after them to the medical bay.

"River, I've already done this," the Doctor said. "It will tell us nothing."

"You wouldn't have called us all here if you were giving up," his wife replied as they entered the bay. "And you are _not_ pulling another Lake Silencio. Now hush and stand still. Jenny, come here and help me for a moment."

Jenny left the jacket and bow tie on a chair and went to River's side. The Doctor stood under a light in the middle of the room. River instructed Jenny to push buttons or flip switches as needed. The light shone brighter and hummed, occasionally changing colors depending on what buttons were pushed.

"All right, basic readout," River said, walking over to a printer noisily churning out some results written in circles and dots and lines. "Two hearts, beating normally. Lungs, kidneys, liver, stomachs, all functioning normally. Blood cell counts, normal. Regenerative energy, active but…"

"But…?" the Doctor prompted.

"We need a new test. Jenny, come here."

Jenny didn't really understand what she was doing, but did as River Song instructed her. Occasionally, she would have a moment where she thought she might begin to understand some of the procedures, but then the moment would pass and she was just following orders.

The Doctor remained under the light for a while, standing still but looking bored.

"He doesn't like it, time going as it normally should," River said, answering Jenny's thoughts. "He likes it when things happen out of order because he likes showing off his ability to keep it all straight in his head."

"But doesn't it all happen normally for him?"

"In his personal timeline, yes, but it's the universal timeline going awry that drives people mad. He loves the relativity."

"And 'he' also has a name. I can totally hear everything you're saying."

"Hush, honey, we're still working."

"Well aren't you done yet?"

"There! Yes, sweetie, now we are. Go on."

The Doctor buttoned up his shirt, hiding the nasty flesh, and snapped his suspenders back into place. He waited by the printer, eager for the results.

"It may be a few hours," River told him. "And the results will have to be meticulously analyzed. Go back to the others. We'll let you know as soon as we find something."

The Doctor grumbled a bit but donned his jacket and tied his bow tie. He gave them a last look before exiting the medical bay.


	5. Awkward Conversations

"So, you're his wife?" Jenny asked.

"Yes, dear, I am," River replied, organizing the results which were still printing.

"So that would make you my step-mother."

"Yes, I suppose it would."

"Are you a Time Lord?"

"No, I'm not."

"Human, then."

"I suppose."

"You suppose?"

"My parents were human, yes, but I was conceived within the Time Vortex. You might say I'm a little of both."

"Yes…" Something in Jenny's mind clicked. "You saved the Doctor's life by giving up the rest of your regenerations. You didn't know him then. But…in the Library, you-"

"Ah-ah! Spoilers."

"I don't understand. He saw you-"

"Jenny." River turned and sighed. "You've telepathically linked with the Doctor, I can see. From this, you should see that we're travelling in opposite directions in time. His earliest memories of me are things I've likely not experienced yet. And one of our rules is to never give away each other's future."

"Why? Wouldn't it be better if you knew what was coming so you could avoid it?"

"My future is his past. Whatever happens to me…it's already fixed." She sighed. "Now then, hand me that scanner."

* * *

The Tardis sat in space, hovering over a red nebula. The Doctor and Susan sat in the doorway, legs over the edge, watching the nebula writhe and churn like a living beast.

"How's David?" he asked.

"Gone," Susan said, not missing a beat.

"Dead?"

"Yes, Grandfather. That's what the humans do."

"Right. For how long?"

"David's been gone for four hundred years or so. After that was Charles. And then James. I regenerated then and there was Hannah for a little while, but it didn't last. Leslie after that. Another regeneration where I stayed single. When I regenerated into this body, there was George. But he's long gone now also. After he died, I decided to go out and see the stars again so I tracked down a teleporter dealer and went from there."

"Ah." The Doctor nodded slowly. "Children?" he asked hopefully.

"None. All my spouses understood what I am, but humans and Time Lords…" She frowned and shook her head.

The Doctor gingerly put an arm around her and she leaned into him. "How old are you now?"

"Six hundred forty-two. Yourself?"

"Fourteen hundred seventeen."

They sat in silence after that.

"River isn't a Time Lord," Susan stated after a while.

"No, she's not."

"And Jenny…isn't a proper Time Lord."

"I suppose not."

"Life's not been kind to you since the Time War."

The Doctor sighed. "No, it hasn't."

"Grandfather?"

"Hm?"

"I'm glad we're back together."

Blinking back tears he smiled and pulled her closer. "So am I, Susan. So am I."

* * *

"So, Doctor gets cloned half-human, drops you off with her, and you two get hitched," Jack observed loudly. "I wish I was so lucky."

"Jack, please," Rose said, rolling her eyes.

"Any children?"

"What?"

"That's enough out of you, captain," John announced, roughly guiding Jack to a bedroom. "Time for bed." He brought out his sonic screwdriver, a little leftover from his adventuring days. "I'm sealing you in. Anyone goes in or comes out of your room before this seal is lifted, an alarm will go off."

"Is that really necessary?"

"I'm just protecting my family."

"I wouldn't touch Rose, Doc-John!"

"My _entire_ family, Jack."

As Jack tried to protest further, John sonic-ed again and the door slid shut.

* * *

"Was it really necessary, John?" Rose wondered as they headed to another bedroom. "You've never liked Jack."

"He's brilliant and charming, but I don't want him anywhere near my wife, daughter, or granddaughter." He thought a moment. "Or my other wife. I suppose."

"So River is your other wife?"

"I said something wrong, didn't I?"

"You think?"

"I'm going to pay for it, aren't I?"

Rose bit her lip and smiled. "Oh, yes, sir, you are."

* * *

"So, what is all this? What does it mean?" Jenny asked, leafing through some of the result pages. "I mean, it's all circles."

"It's Circular Gallifreyan, your father's native language. Actually, I think his native is Old High Gallifreyan." River shrugged. "Either way, that's what he reads."

"He reads circles?"

"Come on, Jenny, surely you know a bit of it?"

Jenny studied the patterns. For a moment, it was almost like she understood. And then the epiphany darted away. She shook her head. "It means nothing. Shouldn't the Tardis translate it? It translates everything."

"Except Gallifreyan; it's the base language of the Tardis. Anyone who understands it has at least an advantage in working her."

"Oh."

Suddenly, the printer cut off the final page. The din of scratchy printing was gone, leaving the medical bay in an awkward silence. River gathered the final pages and flipped through them. Jenny watched her expression grow grimmer and grimmer, her frown deepening.

"Is it bad?" Jenny dared ask.

River looked up at her with a mock-fine expression. "The Doctor said that he hadn't done anything to reality. And he was right. But what the Daleks could do with this information goes even beyond what could happen to reality."

"Should I go get him?"

River shook her head. "No. Not yet. Right now we all ought to get some rest."

Jenny grinned. "Because tomorrow we start running?"

River laughed. "Yes, Jenny. Tomorrow we start running."


	6. Salted

"So, what's the verdict?" Jack asked the following morning, having been released from his room and joining the rest of the group assembled near the controls.

"A Time Lord's body in itself is a near impossible miracle," River started. "The ability to regenerate is something coveted throughout the rest of the universe."

"And this probe is killing his ability to do so?" Rose guessed.

"In a manner of speaking," Jenny told her. "But not necessarily killing the ability, more suspending it, preserving it."

"So I'm being salted before being put in storage," the Doctor said ruefully. "But to what end? We've established that this is the work of the Daleks, but why? They would never stoop to such subtle assassination attempts if they wanted to kill me."

"I don't think they're trying to kill you, Doctor," River said. "I think they may be trying to cross-clone you."

"Cross-clone?" Susan asked.

"The probe is killing the flesh and only the flesh, and encasing the dead cells with some…method of preventing restoration, but his ability to regenerate is intact; after all, he can use it to lessen the pain."

"I'm sorry, I'm lost," Jack interjected. "So can he regenerate or can't he?"

"Both," Jenny answered. "A Time Lord's cells, as relating to regeneration, are all inter-linked, connected in a way a human's cells could never be. The cells themselves, down to the DNA, are infused with regenerative energy. The probe is cutting off that energy, cell-by-cell. It is then encasing each cell in…something yet unidentified to prevent that interlink. Basically, he can force energy between cells to lessen the pain, and the cells within the casing still have that energy, but they are completely cut-off from each other."

"So what does that get the Daleks?" John asked casually. "Doctor's right; they wouldn't kill from a distance like this."

"I don't think they're looking to kill," River said, frowning. "I think they're looking to harvest."

"What do you mean, harvest?" Rose inquired.

"The Doctor isn't dying, not really. His cells are still very much alive within the casings. Though without contact, movement will be greatly limited. After some time, you'll be incapacitated. Alive, but unable to move. Depending on how severe the effects are, you may not be able to think either, and fall into a coma-like state. And then the Daleks will have you."

"But for what _purpose?"_ Jack asked irritably.

"Regeneration," Susan said quietly. "After a long time, even the regenerative energy will begin to break down, lose its finer points of discernment. Right now, it will work only for a Time Lord."

"If it broke down completely, even the Daleks could use it," John finished grimly. "They could introduce it into the Dalek genome and give them a power they should never have."

"Regenerating Daleks." Jack shook his head. "Unbelievable."

"But why make it such a slow process?" Rose wondered. "I mean, it would take months, years, even for him to be incapacitated, and who knows how long it would be before the regenerative energy broke down enough for them? It's not like they exactly caught him unawares."

"Doesn't matter if it's slow or fast as long as there is no cure," the Doctor pointed out.

"But you don't believe there is not cure," John said smugly. "That's why you brought us."

"So why did you bring us?" Jenny asked.

The Doctor grinned. He then rushed up to the controls, speaking as he galloped about. "I brought Jack for his guns; I don't like guns, but I like him and his guns. River for her brains and her guns, which I like. And she's my wife; what are you going to do?"

"Oh, I hate you," River spat.

"No, you don't. I brought John so I could have clever conversations with myself. Rose just happened to be there, but I'm not complaining. Susan and Jenny I brought because after so—many—centuries of being separated from my family, thinking them dead or lost or both, I am not losing them again!" He jerked down on a lever. "Any questions?"

"Where are we going?" Rose asked.

"We're going to start by visiting some of the best physicians in the universe."

"Not the nuns…" River groaned.

"What? You've got something against the nuns? They healed you, you know."

"Yeah, well I also married you."

He stopped and gave her a look. "River. You wound me so. You pierce both my hearts with your hurtful words."

She gave a small smile, went to him and patted his hand. "I'm sorry, sweetie. I worry about you is all."

They shared a brief kiss before heading off around the controls to do their thing—the Doctor doing one thing and River negating it to do it correctly. Susan jumped in after a moment to help.

"The nuns?" Jenny wondered.


	7. Completely Legitimate

"Oh, Doctor, welcome back," Matron Casp greeted. "I assure you everything is quite in order and you are free to roam at your leisure. You and…all your friends."

"We're not here to investigate you, Matron," the Doctor told her.

"Unless you need to be investigated," Rose threw in.

"No, not at all. Everything in this hospital is completely legitimate," the Matron informed her haughtily.

"Yeah, until I get redi-_rected_ in the lift."

Under her hat, the Matrons' ears flattened and a growl rumbled in her throat.

"Ladies, please," Captain Jack said smoothly, stepped between them. "Matron, we are actually here for a bit of help."

"What sort of help?" the cat woman bit off.

"Well, the Doctor here needs help." He raised a brow and turned up the charm. "But I think I'm long overdue for a physical. If you want, I could duck into a room with a couple highly _skilled_ nurses and we could-"

"Jack, please!" River cut in. "Matron, my husband is in need of medical assistance and time is of the essence. So if we could hurry this up, that would be lovely."

"Of course," the Matron agreed, straightening and letting off some anger. "You shall be my personal patients."

Jack grinned. "Can I be someone's personal patient?"

* * *

"So, Doctor, what brings you here to seek my help?" Matron Casp inquired as the door slid shut on the white room where only she, the Doctor, and River entered.

"I've not approved of your methods of research in the past, Matron," the Doctor told her, "but I also know you're no fool." He gritted his teeth as the Matron raised a brow and looked intrigued and flattered. "You're intelligent and know what you're doing, even if it's wrong."

"Always the charmer, Doctor," the Matron said. "Willing to butter up for a favor without letting a cat forget the crimes of her past lives. You're not the only one with more than one life, Doctor. And don't play me for a fool. What do you want?"

After a moment of hesitation, he once again removed his bow tie and jacket and unbuttoned his shirt to show the Matron the flesh-eating disease.

"My, my, my," the Matron murmured, peering close at the rotting flesh. "What have we gotten ourselves into this time?"

"We've been able to determine it is Dalek in origin," River told her and related their findings.

"Interesting," the cat woman mused, taking a small blade and scraping off some flakes of skin into a petri dish. "So it looks like the Daleks have finally got one up on you this time, Doctor." She placed the dish under a modified super-microscope. "How did this happen?"

The Doctor gave her an abbreviated account of events while he redressed.

"Well," the Matron sighed after a moment, "I'm afraid I can't tell you anything new just from this microscope. I'll have to run some tests."

"Tests on whom?" he asked heatedly.

"Tests _in_ some different substances. You're not the first person to wander in here with a Dalek injury; we have a few standard tests and then we'll go from there."

"So has this happened to anyone else?" River wondered as they followed the Matron out of the room.

"Of course not, dear. No other creature in the universe has something the Daleks want. They are, in their eyes, physically perfect. They assimilate superior technology—if they happen to come across it—and exterminate anything flesh. The only thing they _could_ want is this, his ability to regenerate. After that, there is nothing more they could want, unless they were to discover an immortal and indestructible being."

"God help us if they do."

"Indeed. Now then, I'll run these tests and you can rejoin your friends in the lobby area."

The Doctor was still reluctant to leave the Matron to her own devices, but he stepped into the lift with River and was soon soaking in disinfectant. When they stepped out into the lobby, both were dry, but the Doctor seemed much relieved while River looked ready to kill something.

"Oh come on, River, that lift was probably the most terrible part of your stay here." The Doctor stepped out. "I kind of liked it."

River just snorted indignantly and pushed past him to approach the rest of the group who was sitting in the lobby, pretending to be interested in whatever magazines were lying about.

"What did she say?" Jenny inquired.

"She has to run some tests first," the Doctor told her. "But this is the finest hospital in the galaxy, so there's no need to worry."

Susan managed a smile and stood to hug him. "I'm not worried, Grandfather."

"So he really is your grandfather?" Rose wondered from another chair.

"Yeah," John answered. "She was my first companion in the Tardis. Always had a fascination with mid-twentieth century Earth."

"Never could understand it," the Doctor went on. "But it doesn't matter now, I suppose." He stepped back and looked Susan in the eye. "And I have to say, you are much more stable now than you used to be."

"Six hundred years will do that to you."

"Six hundred years." He scoffed and sat down on a long couch, River on one side and Susan on the other. "You're only still a child." He looked around. "Where's Jack?"

"Guess," Rose said, rolling her eyes.

"Right here!" the captain cut in, walking up and looking rather pleased.

"Have you been chasing nuns?" River asked spitefully.

"Easier than chasing cats. And, Doctor, I must say you look mighty comfortable."

"I'm spending quality time with my wife and granddaughter. And my daughter on the chair next to us."

"Touching." Jack sat and picked up a magazine. "So what did they say?"

"They have to run some tests," Rose cut in. "If you were here, you'd know that."

"Hey, as soon as we have something to run on, I'm all there. But as it stands, we don't know anything all that helpful. So why shouldn't I do anything except what I do?"

"Why should you?" River retorted. "You're not the one dying."

"You're assuming I don't care. I do. Just point me in a direction, give me a gun, and-"

"No guns!" the Doctor interrupted.

"Fine. Point me in a direction and let me go. I'll clear the way. And if I die, I'll just get up and keep going."

"What?" Susan exclaimed.

"He can't die," John informed her. "Well, he can't stay dead."

"Of course. That's what I felt from you."

"Oh? Are you sure it's not my good looks and charm?"

"Watch it, Harkness," the Doctor and John warned.

Jack put up his hands in surrender, but Susan kept going. "No, I felt something I only feel about points in time. Fixed, that feeling of something being a fixed thing in time. But…I've only ever felt it from time, from events, never from a single person."

"One in a million, am I right?"

"What happened, Grandfather? Why is he a fixed point?"

"Well, Rose over here looked into the heart of the Tardis and became the Bad Wolf. She destroyed the Daleks, for a while, and revived Captain Jack. Forever."

"Oh, that's wonderful," River sighed. "History is bound to be riddled with his messes. How many have I cleaned up not knowing it was you?"

"Why don't you like me?" Jack wondered.

"I don't see anything wrong with him," Jenny put in.

"Thank you!"

"Jenny!" Rose cried. "Are you thick?"

"Please, guys," the Doctor said. "I'm dying. Can my family and friends at least _pretend_ to get along until I'm dead?"

"You're not going to die!" Susan told him forcefully.

"I don't intend to, no. And that means you all still have to at least pretend to get along."

Jack leaned back, defeated; River folded her arms grouchily, and Susan, Rose and Jenny exchanged uncertain glances. The Doctor glanced at John who shrugged and went back to his magazine.

After a moment, the Matron approached. Only the Doctor looked up.

"I have the test results, Doctor," she reported. When no one stirred, she looked uncertain. "Am I interrupting something?"


	8. What News

"So, what news?" the Doctor inquired, following the Matron into a lab of sorts. He whipped out his sonic and started scanning, but everything was, as the Matron said, legitimate. "Can it be cured or reversed?"

"Time Lords and Daleks don't get along, Doctor, I don't need to tell you that. And neither does your physiology," the Matron stated.

"Matron, so far, every report I've gotten has started with a nice, well-thought-out monologue. And that usually precedes bad news. Sister, if you've got bad news to tell me, then tell me!"

"I do have bad news. But also good news. Which would you like first?"

"Bad."

"All right." She still looked uncertain. "The rate of decay, if you'll pardon the language, is not steady; it's exponential. When the device was activated, it was probably doing ten cells the first day, twenty the next, then forty, and so on. Based on your current state and applying that formula, I would estimate you've got two weeks, maybe three."

"Oh, is that all?"

"No, that was the least of the bad news."

"All right. And the rest?"

"The substance surrounding your cells is a modified form of the alloy encasing the Daleks, modified only to make it smaller and softer."

"Softer?"

"So you still have some movement, but it still separates the cells. It bonds to the cells, like a couple candles melting together at the ends. But it is just as impenetrable, except by Dalek machinery." The Matron blinked. "That is all for the bad news."

"Great. So what's the good news?"

"Better than you might think. As soon as the substance bonds, it starts to break down."

"Exponentially, I hope. So I just have to find a nice corner of space to hide in for a few weeks?"

"No, not exponentially, not exactly. The first afflicted cells are breaking down very, very slowly. Exponentially slowly. I'm afraid your waiting time for a natural breakdown would be…fifteen thousand years."

"Oh. Can you speed it up?"

"I'm afraid not. The technology is just too advanced; as I said, it is very rare for the Daleks to come upon technology even remotely superior to their own. I think only the Time Lords achieved such a thing, but without them…" She gave him a look. "They are superior."

The Doctor folded his arms tightly. "Yes, of course."

"But, the best news is that there is a cure. It's just…you need Dalek technology."

"So, if I got my hands on some Dalek technology, I could bring it to you and you could cure this?"

The Matron blinked and shook her head incredulously. "Doctor, you are talking about microsurgery. _Nano_surgery. You don't need a nurse, Doctor, you need a computer programmer. And a damn good one at that."

"You're swearing, Sister," the Doctor said. "You must be really concerned."

"Hm, well, being outwitted by the same man twice grows on you."

"I wouldn't know."

"No, of course you wouldn't."

"But it could be done."

Matron Casp sighed in defeat. "Yes. It could be done. Your cells aren't dead. Yet. But the longer they remain cut-off, well, it's not good."

"How long do I have?"

"Ten days to be safe. Two weeks is pushing it."

"Well then, no time to lose."

He turned to leave and the Matron followed. "You're not actually going to seek out a Dalek just for the technology, are you?"

"I'm not going to wait fifteen thousand years just to get over a little cold, Matron, not when the cure is right there."

The Matron stepped in beside him in the lift. "But when you compare the two, this disease is far less lethal." She hissed as the disinfectant started spraying.

"You've upped the disinfectant," the Doctor commented.

"We had to, after a few medical mishaps."

"That I corrected."

"Yes, Doctor. That _you_ corrected. And now you need our help to correct your little mishap."

"So it would seem."

The lift reached the lobby again and they stepped out to see the rest of the gang engaged in friendly conversation.

"Are you all bipolar?!" the Doctor exclaimed. "I leave and none of you could care less; I come back and you're all the best of friends!" He didn't wait for an answer, just brushed past them as they looked up and headed for the door. "Come on, gang!"

"Where are we going?" Jenny asked, running deftly to his side.

"What did she say?" Susan butted in on his other side.

"I've got ten days to move and about two weeks to live," he reported, stepping out in front and whirling to face them.

"So what are we going to do?" Jack wondered.

The Doctor grinned. "We're going to hunt ourselves some Daleks."


	9. Hunting Trip

"So there is a cure," Rose stated as the door to the Tardis swung shut.

"Yes there is!" the Doctor reported, flipping a switch with glee.

"But the cure is the Daleks," Jack said.

"Yes it is!"

"So all we have to do is hunt down a Dalek, corner it, subdue it, and demand it hand over the technology to reverse this disease," John concluded.

"Yes we do!"

"It's a foolish plan," River informed him. "No Dalek is going to just hand over the cure for a disease they purposely inflicted upon you."

"It's not an intravenous or pill cure, River. The Matron said all we needed was the technology. So we just need to hunt one down, disable it, and take it apart. Something in their metal casings must work."

"Grandfather, are you really willing to risk your life?" Susan asked in a small voice.

He sighed, looked at her, and bent to put his hands on her shoulders. "Yes, Susan, I would. I don't know what they're planning, but I bet the Daleks aren't going to simply wait for me to keel over. I have to try. I owe it to myself; I owe it to you. I didn't spend months tracking you down just to be the one to die."

He straightened. "Now then, where should we start?"

"How about in a mental hospital," Jack said sarcastically.

"Very funny, Jack. Now come here and give me a hand." He didn't wait for a reply. "Now then, we're going to do something I don't normally do; we're going to crash into a Dalek ship, take them by surprise, go in, grab a Dalek, and get out before they know what's happening."

"And how is that different?" Rose wondered.

"It's not, that was just something to make himself sound incredibly clever and reassure the rest of us," John said quietly.

"I heard that," the Doctor said. "Stop giving away all my secrets!"

"Maybe we should start in a mental hospital," Jenny piped up. "The Doctor's talking to himself."

"And he's answering!" He gritted his teeth. "All right, you!" Jenny giggled. "You just take a seat; everyone take a seat! Because here—we—go!" He yanked down on the final lever and all the companions were thrown back against the railing. The Doctor lost his grip on the console and spun into River's arms. The Tardis jerked again, but River held fast to him and whispered, "You are absolutely mad." Another jerk, but she held him close by only his bow tie. "I will not let you do anything foolish, do you hear me?" He searched her eyes, but found only cold concern. "I'm staying here in the Tardis. At the first sign of trouble, I'm pulling you out. Do you understand?"

He stared at her for a moment before finding his voice. "Yes, dear."

The Tardis settled and everyone softened their hold on the railings. River smiled and kissed him. "Good. Now then, go out and save the universe again you wonderful, sexy man."

"Oh, River, naughty. You used the four-letter s-word. For shame."

"What are you going to do about it?"

He was prepared to reply, but Jack interrupted them. "Doctor! Mind telling us where we are?"

"Go on, sweetie," River told him, giving him another kiss. "I'll be here when you return."

"Keep the lights on."

"And the bed warm."

"Ooh."

"Doctor!" Jenny barked.

He tore himself away and pulled down the scanner. "Seems we've found a lonely little Dalek scout ship on the edge of the safety zone of a black hole into which a blue dwarf star is collapsing."

"What are they doing here?" Jack wondered aloud.

"Oh, the Daleks have always been curious about the 'other side' of a black hole," John said matter-of-fact. "I mean, really, who isn't? For the Daleks, they expect either another universe to conquer and spread Dalek-kind, or else some sort of incredible power source. After all, nothing escapes a black hole, and that kind of power is appealing to them."

"'Scuse me," the Doctor interjected. "I'm the Doctor now. I'm the one who gets to sound extremely clever."

"But he doesn't get to sound so clever at home," Rose told him. "I'm the only one he can impress with it; everyone else looks at him like he's crazy."

"People look at me like I'm crazy and it doesn't bother me."

John gave him a look. "Yes it does. Besides, you said you risked our time and space just so you could find me and have clever conversations. I don't know about you, but this seems to be a one-sided conversation."

"I do want clever conversations," the Doctor said, brushing past him and leaning against the door. "But I will remind you that you are no longer the Doctor. You are a passenger, and you are human. And now you get to follow all the rules _you_ set up and complained about your other companions never following."

"You never had any companions?" Rose asked as his hand touched the door handle. He paused and she went on. "You traveled alone?"

"No," he said irritably and looked back. "I did travel with companions. And they had a bad habit of not following the rules." He gave John a pointed glance. "Now then, you'll have to follow your own rules."

John shrugged and grinned mischievously. "I'm not the Doctor; I'm just a human passenger. What are the rules again?"

"Don't wander off. Remember, we're just here to capture one Dalek. And don't do anything foolish. I want to return you all safely to your own times and universes. Does anyone here not understand?"

"Isn't River coming?" Jenny inquired, looking back at the woman who leaned against the console.

"It's killing her not to, but no, she's not. In the event of an emergency, she's our only way out." He looked over them all. "Any more questions? No. Good; let's move out."

As they slowly filed out of the Tardis, Jack reported quietly, "Scanners indicate three Daleks onboard, all in what is likely the control room. No indication that we've tripped any alarms."

"Of course not!" River shouted after them. "Because I'm a better pilot than he is!"

"Thanks, dear!" the Doctor shouted back, much to the amusement of the gang. River waved at him as the door swung shut and the Tardis vanished, invisible.

Susan came up beside him as they began their trek through the halls. "You love your wife."

"Of course I do, Susan," the Doctor said, putting an arm around her. _I don't have a choice._


	10. Geron-sy and Allon-simo

"Only three," Jack hissed. "Still no sign of any alarms."

Each member of the gang pressed against the bulkheads behind support beams, peeking out only occasionally to look at the door, behind which lay unspeakable danger.

"So, is there a plan?" Jenny asked.

"I have a few smoke bombs and flares," Jack offered. "It'll give us a good distraction and some cover."

"Is that all?" John questioned disbelievingly, looking back at the undying man.

Jack grinned and somehow from somewhere produced a rather large blaster fashioned like something between a traditional blaster, a Dalek gun, and a WWI machine gun. "Well, I admit I may have been holding out on you guys."

"Where did you hide that?" Susan dared ask.

"You don't want to know."

"No, probably not." John blanched as he faced the door.

"No guns!" the Doctor hissed. "We need one intact!"

"And we'll get one intact," Jenny interrupted, pulling out her own blaster. "It's the other two we have to worry about."

"Jenny, no! You're not supposed to agree with him! Don't encourage him!"

Jack just gave him a look, one the Doctor didn't want to interpret.

"What about us?" Rose wondered. "What do you want Susan and me to do?"

"Stay here; stay hidden," the Doctor and John said together. They glanced at each other and the Doctor nodded for John to continue. "If anything happens to us, you run back to River and get her in there to rescue us."

"But, Grandfather-"

"No, Susan," the Doctor cut in. "You remember the first time we faced the Daleks? On Skaro?" She nodded. "You remember the Thals? Well, they're gone now. The Daleks destroyed them. They've only gotten worse since we left, Susan. You can do nothing against them; the best thing for you to do is wait here and run and get help if we need it."

"And what about me?" Rose asked. "Am I too weak and do-mes-tic to go in?"

The Doctor blinked. "I'm trying to settle the stomach of my counterpart here. You are a married woman, Rose, and I don't think your husband would be too happy if I let something happen to you."

"My mother gave you hell all the time and that never stopped you."

"Your mother will be the least of his worries if something happens to you," John informed her. He scoffed. "But she'd be all over me."

"All right, fine," Rose conceded. "We'll stay here."

"Good. Thank you. So then, everyone know what to do?"

"Yup!" Jack said, emphasizing his point by chambering a round, or pretending to. "Let's go blast some Dalek-"

"Jack!" Jenny cut in. "No need for that."

"Right then," John said. "Allons-y!"

"Geronimo!" the Doctor cried.

They got about one step into it when they turned to each other.

"Did I really say that?" the Doctor asked.

"I didn't give it up for anything too spectacular," John mused.

Jenny rolled her eyes. "Charge!"

Their entrance was hardly the stuff of Hollywood legend, but it got the door down and Jack's smoke bombs and flares caught the Daleks by surprise. Jack managed to explode one with his blaster before they could do much more than turn around and try to find their attackers.

"Keep them away from the consoles!" he shouted over the sudden panic. "Don't let them send a distress call!"

The Doctor leapt over the remains of the destroyed Dalek and started sonic-ing all the computers, locking out any and all controls. John froze as one of the remaining Daleks caught sight of him and leveled its gun; a shot from Jenny's blaster disabled it. The Dalek waggled the useless appendage, shrieking unintelligibly.

Jack exploded a third Dalek, leaving only the one who'd cornered Jack and was now rendered useless.

"I think we have a winner," the captain said triumphantly.

Jenny walked confidently up to the Dalek who now looked around frantically at those gathered around it. She shot its gun at close range, frying the mechanism. "I don't think he'll be much of a threat now."

"They're always a threat," the Doctor said grimly, and went to stand directly in front of the Dalek, peering back through its eyestalk. "Well now, you know what this is, don't you? This is a defeat. This is me, the Doctor, your oldest enemy, and all his companions surrounding you as you sit there absolutely helpless. How does that feel?"

The Dalek did not move or give any indication. The Doctor glared at it and turned sharply away, stalking out of the room. "Guard it always and bring it."

"That was fast," Rose commented, emerging from her hiding spot with Susan and going to join her husband.

"Yes, we caught them by surprise," the Doctor said. "But it won't be long before someone notices their absence. We have to leave now."

The Dalek, most surprisingly, did not resist as they retraced their steps back through the ship, but halted abruptly when it saw the Tardis.

"No…no…no…" it said over and over again.

The Doctor, in no mood for negotiation or mercy, threw open both doors. "Get in."

It took all of them to force the Dalek into the Tardis. Once the doors were shut and locked behind it, it stopped resisting.

"So we got it," Jack said.

"Now what?" Susan wondered.

"Take it down to the lower engines, where all the heavy equipment is stored. Take off its gun, blind the socket, disable its flight. I'll deal with it later."

Jack, Jenny, and John all complied readily. Susan and Rose bid them good night and went off to bed. Only the Doctor and River remained at the controls. He brooded over the knobs and gizmos and River watched him.

"Sweetie, I think you need to rest now," she said quietly.

He looked away. "I need to tear that blasphemy to creation apart."

She moved gingerly closer and put a hand on his good shoulder. "In the morning. Getting angry about it now won't solve anything. Come on, dear. Come to bed."

"Not tired."

"I don't care whether you sleep." River sighed. "Please?"

Only after she asked again and squeezed his shoulder gently did he give in.

* * *

"All right, Doctor, it's completely secure!" Jack said, bounding easily up the steps to the control with Jenny and John just behind. "It's…Doctor?"

They looked around but he was gone.


	11. Watch You Go

"For goodness' sake, Doctor, sit down," River said, exasperated, from the bed. "You're making me nervous."

He'd been pacing for an hour now, talking to himself, grumbling about one thing or another. At first he didn't appear to have heard her, then he walked over and sat heavily on the edge of the bed, his back to her.

"This will all be over tomorrow," River told him soothingly. "We have our Dalek and the genius to pull it apart and find a way to manipulate it into working for him."

"Yes, but it was just too easy," the Doctor sighed.

"So maybe you are just too smart for them and knew what you were doing."

"It was _easy."_

River muttered something under her breath and moved to sit directly behind him, resting her chin on his good shoulder. "You wanted it to be more of a challenge."

"Yes, actually, I did."

"Well, it's all in the past now. And it was easy." She giggled. "But if you're looking for a challenge, I would be happy to oblige."

* * *

Jenny said good night and bounded off to her room, leaving Jack and John alone on the platform. The captain glanced at the once-Time Lord.

"Something on your mind, former Doctor?" he inquired.

"Many things," John confessed. "If you don't mind being a sounding board?"

"Not at all."

"Maybe it's because I haven't lived his life, but…how can River be here? I saw her die."

"So this is earlier in her time stream, so what?"

"But it doesn't make sense for her to be here. All right, maybe it does, but something about her presence here is…out of sync with the rest of our group." Jack opened his mouth to speak, but John had already moved on. "And Jenny. Something's not right about her either."

"How do you mean?"

"She died; I saw her die, too. And yet, she lives. Maybe she wasn't really dead, just in a Time Lord state of comatose to repair the wound. If that's the case, however, why did she not fully regenerate?"

Jack sighed. "I don't know. But what are you going to do about it? And what are you looking for exactly?"

"I don't know just yet."

"Well, when you figure it out, just let me know. Good night, former Doctor."

"And you, former mortal."

The captain turned and mock saluted John who returned the gesture.

* * *

Early the following morning (or as close to morning as could be approximated on the Tardis), Susan bounded through the corridors. She was gleeful that everything was still pretty much as it was, though the concern of the night's events put a real damper on her day.

No one had seen hide or hair of her grandfather since he'd ordered the Dalek taken away and now they were all out looking for him. Of course, no one knew the Tardis like she did, and she knew the best place to start would be the most well-hidden room in the whole fourth-dimension—his room.

Her grandfather could be a very private man. He'd never actually shown her the way to his room; she stumbled upon it by accident one day. He hadn't gotten mad when he found her there, just got really quiet and watched her until she slunk away.

She stopped in front of the door she knew was his and took a breath. Well, they were both different people, the same in essence, but… She knocked.

"Who is it?" came a voice from inside.

Susan pressed closer to the door. "Grandfather?"

"Yes, Susan, what is it?"

Cautiously she opened the door and peeked inside.

Her grandfather was in bed, covered only by his shirt. River was tucked under his arm, asleep, her head resting on his chest, covered only by the blanket.

"Everyone has been looking for you, Grandfather," Susan told him levelly.

"I'm flattered," he replied.

"Including the Dalek."

"What?"

"A couple hours ago, it started fussing and calling for you."

"Calling for me?"

"Well, a combination of calling for and cursing you, but it won't settle down."

"All right, I'll be down in a moment."

* * *

Susan nodded once and left, the door gently clicking shut.

"I don't think she approves," River murmured.

"Hm?" The Doctor glanced down.

"I don't think she particularly approves of our marriage, sweetie."

"She's a strong girl," he said, sliding out from under River and finding his clothes. "Much more emotionally stable than she used to be."

"Yes, but now she has a step-grandmother who is human."

"My mother was human. And she has an aunt who doesn't know the first thing about being a Time Lord, but they're getting on just fine."

"Doctor…"

"All right, I get it!" he snapped, shoving one arm through a jacket sleeve. "But it will have to wait until after I tear that metal monster apart."

"Do as you will," River sighed, pressing herself deeper into the blankets.

The Doctor stood near the door, fixing his bow tie. "Are you coming?"

"I'll be down in a moment."

"I see. Well then."

"You're not used to this, are you?"

"What?"

"The women watching you go."

He gave her a look, opened his mouth as if to speak, found nothing, and instead merely left, the door clicking gently shut.


	12. A Dalek for a Pet

"Ah, Doctor, there you are!" Jack said, relieved. He and the others, minus River, were standing around the console as the Doctor descended the steps. "We were just about to-"

"Where is it?!" he demanded hotly, brushing past all of them and heading ever-downward to the lower engines.

"Right down where you told us to put it," Jack answered uncertainly, going down after him. John followed Jack and Jenny and Rose behind him. Only Susan remained on the console.

As they went down and down, the shrieks of the Dalek could be heard. They got only louder and more violent. It called out for blood and vengeance, cursing the universe and the Doctor, rattling in its bonds.

"Hello there!" the Doctor announced loudly, throwing open the doors and strolling purposefully over to the Dalek bound in metal chains and time chains and even impossible liquid chains, plus locked in an energy prison. The lower engines hummed loudly, pulsing regularly as a miniscule portion of energy fed into the Dalek's prison.

"I heard you wanted to see me," the Doctor said.

Being blind, only when the Dalek heard him did it quiet.

"I heard you were looking for a doctor. Well, here I am."

The Dalek was silent for a moment. Then, "Doc…tor…"

"I also hear you've been using some very naughty language, even for a Dalek. What is it, you can't make good on your threats now that I'm here? Or is that the only way you feel any sort of power or control since you've been blinded, disarmed, and grounded?"

"Doc…tor…"

"I'm listening."

"You seek the cure for your illness."

The Doctor's brows furrowed. "Yes, how did you know?"

"Every Dalek knows, Doctor. Every Dalek eagerly awaits your doom."

"My doom. Not my death, my doom. What is my doom?"

Pause. "Unknown."

The Doctor took several steps back to where the rest of the group waited, all armed and all ears.

"Unknown?" Jenny wondered.

"It's too low on the totem pole to be given such information," the Doctor told her.

"Must be one hell of a scheme, then," Jack commented.

"Not necessarily," John cut in. "This Dalek came from a scout ship on the edge of some unknown galaxy; it probably doesn't know anything beyond a few days' worth of orders."

Jack rolled his eyes. "Great. So it's useless."

"Maybe," the Doctor said, heading over to a large toolbox set between large engine machinery. "But then, I just need its technology, not its brain." He held up a long, thin, needle-like instrument to the light. "You lot can go back to the controls; let me know if anyone's noticed this Dalek's ship has gone missing. Oh, and see if you can't find a clear, plastic container about like so." He approximated the dimensions.

"What's the container for?" Rose asked.

"Company," John answered lowly, guiding her back up the steps. The rest of the gang eventually followed.

* * *

"Good morning, Susan," River said pleasantly, walking up to the controls.

"River," she acknowledged.

No one else was around and the air seemed to collapse into utter silence as they manned the controls. Susan pressed a button; River flipped a switch. Susan remained in near-perfect stillness; River shifted her weight from one foot to the other.

"Your grandfather and I are married," River stated several minutes into the silence.

"I know," Susan said, shrugging.

"Then why do I get the feeling of being shunned?"

"I'm not shunning you."

"But you don't accept me."

Susan shrugged again. "It's just strange to see Grandfather so…married."

"But not to your grandmother."

"Yeah." Susan finally looked up. "I mean, don't get me wrong, you are very nice and all, but-"

"Susan, I'm not here to be her replacement. And I can understand what you are feeling."

"But you are his wife." Susan managed a smile. "It's strange to see him married, but it is much better to see that he is happy."

River was ready to say more, but John, Rose, and the rest of the gang clambered back up to the console, silent save for heavy boots and stomping or unseemly shuffling.

"Where is Grandfather?" Susan asked when the Doctor did not appear behind them.

"He's down interrogating the Dalek," Jenny reported. "While he's taking it apart. He says he doesn't want to be disturbed."

River rolled her eyes and started toward the stairs. "Of course he doesn't."

"You're not going down there, are you?" Jack said.

"Of course I am."

"He won't like that," Susan said, abandoning the console and going after her.

"No, he won't, darling, and that's exactly what I'm expecting."

"You want to anger him?"

"Anger?" River single laugh echoed softly as they went down the stairs. "You want to talk about anger, just wait until he does something stupid. Then you ought to stay out of _my_ way."

"Like when you change everything he does on the console?"

"Exactly."

"I saw you, in his mind."

"No spoilers, darling. Whatever happens to me, it is fixed."

But Susan pressed ahead. "You're called the…child of the Tardis?"

"Yes," River said matter-of-fact.

"But your parents were human."

"Quite. But that is neither here nor there. Now hush."

River opened the doors to the lower engines just as the Doctor screwed on the lid of the clear container, sealing in the tentacled Dalek. He glanced at them, welding goggles stuck firmly to his face. He frowned. "What are you doing here?"

"Checking up on your progress," River told him.

"You're lying," the Doctor stated, turning up the blowtorch and back to the Dalek armor.

Susan walked over to the imprisoned Dalek. "So, why are you keeping it?"

"As a pet. Does it matter?" He didn't look up from his work.

"She's only asking," River scolded. "Though I am just as curious."

"Because if I can't get this armor apart on my own, it's going to have to tell me how I can. On pain of death, which, without this casing, is a very real threat. That, and I still have to interrogate it."

"But Grandfather-"

River gave her a look and she let it go. She glanced at the Doctor. "We'll leave you to it, then."

As she and Susan approached the doors, the Doctor called after them. "Don't go wandering off." He swung around and pushed up the goggles. "I'm going to need you standing by in the medical bay; I'm not wasting a single second."

"Of course not. We'll be waiting."

"So what now?" Susan asked as the doors shut behind them.

"We wander off."


	13. The Wrong Wire

"Grandfather hasn't changed a bit," Susan said, smiling, as they convened with the rest of them at the console.

"One thing I don't get, though," Jack said. "If this cure was this…_easy_, why did he bring all of us?"

"When the Doctor faked his death some years ago," River began, "he wanted us—myself and Amy and Rory—there with him because he didn't want to die alone."

"So that's it?" Rose blurted. "He wanted all of us to witness his death without regeneration?"

"Would you like to die alone?" River snapped. She huffed. "If that is all we are able to accomplish, then I am glad to be by his side. But that is not to say I won't fight for him until he does kick off. You guys brought this Dalek here, and maybe that is all you did. Maybe that is all you needed to do. Aren't you at least happy that you can help a friend in need, a man like the Doctor? And if there is more to be done, then you'll be there for him, won't you?"

The others looked away, ashamed. It was Jenny who spoke first. "I will."

"So will I," Jack agreed.

"And me," Rose said.

One-by-one, they came together. In the wake of such a damning moment, idle chatter fell flat and no one wanted to be the first to leave. It was just as well since only minutes later, there was an explosion from down below and the whole Tardis rocked.

* * *

The entire gang burst through the doors to the lower engines into an impenetrable cloud of smoke and carbon dioxide from a fire extinguisher. The _hiss_ing of the extinguisher could still be heard and from the gloom, the Doctor backed up and ran into them. They fell as a group through the doors and down at the base of the stairs, coughing and groaning and trying to get up.

"Doctor, what happened?" Rose gasped.

"A small…technological error…" he coughed.

"What did you do?" John demanded.

"I cut the wrong wire, all right?" The Doctor stood angrily. "It shorted out the entire system!" He coughed several times. "Ventilation!"

Immediately, the ventilation system turned on high and sucked out the toxins. Nothing in the room appeared to be harmed—the Dalek itself was still a lump in the plastic container—except the Dalek casing across the room, which was still smoldering but otherwise intact. Jack was the first to reach it and inspected the damage.

"The shell is highly durable; I imagine if you were to scrape off a few inches, it would be good as new. Most of the parts seem okay, but the wiring is shot." He stood. "If you want, I can rewire the whole thing."

"No, that wouldn't do any good," John mused. "The Daleks use a different metal for conducting electricity, highly durable, enough to power multiple gunshots without damaging the rest of the systems. Otherwise they would just implode."

"Yes, but that's only when the electricity is generated from within," the Doctor continued. "They use the same metal for the casing, and they can still be electrocuted."

"Besides, we're not trying to power the gun," Jack pointed out. "Just run a little electricity through the systems. And without the casing and trying to force wires through tight spots, it can be done freehand. I reckon I can have this up and running in, say, an hour?"

"I can help," John volunteered. "We'll be done in twenty minutes."

"Provided nothing goes wrong," River said bluntly.

"Yes," John sighed. "Provided nothing goes wrong."

"Can I help as well?" Jenny asked.

"You can find some wire for us while we try to get these parts out of the casing," Jack told her. "I don't know how much we'll need, so just grab everything you can find."

"Great!" Jenny grinned widely, then paused. "Exactly where do I find extra wiring?"

"Start down that way," the Doctor said, pointing in a direction.

"_That_ way," River corrected sharply, pointing in another direction. "Second room on your left, there will be whole rolls of different wires; grab the green and blue ones."

Jenny looked back and forth between them, but ultimately obeyed River.

"What did you do that for?" the Doctor asked.

"You were telling her where to find Time wires; they need electrical wires."

"Time wires are more durable than regular wires."

"But Time wires are incompatible with Dalek technology; it would permanently ruin the systems and we'd have to go out Dalek-hunting again."

The Doctor gritted his teeth. "How do you know that?!"

River folded her arms. "Because when you cracked open its shell, the Tardis started analyzing it and cataloguing everything."

"And the Tardis tells you everything."

River raised a brow and gave him a look.

"I got the wire!" Jenny announced. But all eyes seemed to be watching the Doctor and River. Jenny cleared her throat awkwardly.

"Over here, Jenny," Jack said.

"She tells you everything, too," River told the Doctor.

"Yes, but we have our disagreements."

"You threw the owner's manual into a white dwarf star."

"We have violent disagreements." He pushed past her to leave.

"So it's a good thing I was here to prevent a stupid mistake," she said to his back. When he didn't reply, she shook her head. "I hate you sometimes."

Then he was gone. Susan and Rose came on either side of her.

"I hate that man sometimes," River sighed. She glanced back. "How long on those systems?"

"At this moment, about forty-five minutes," John reported. "We'll send Jenny up when we're ready."

"All right then. Come along, girls."

"Where are we going?" Rose wondered.

"To get a drink."


	14. Pulse

"We had a little more trouble than we originally thought," Jack explained. "Just getting it out of the casing was bad enough, but then the wiring was quite complicated."

"Please, Jack, spare me the monologue," the Doctor said irritably. "Does it work? Do you have any idea of what to do or how to use it?"

The captain frowned. "Not a clue, Doctor. Sorry."

The Doctor scoffed and walked a distance away.

"Why would the Matron suggest Dalek technology if no one knows how to use it?" Rose asked.

"Because we asked if there was any cure," River told her, "not necessarily an accessible cure." She frowned. "This is the cure; it's just…inaccessible."

Then the Dalek, who had been silent thus far, began to laugh in its gargled voice. "Oh, you dumb little life forms. You know what this is, don't you?"

"Stop it," the Doctor ordered.

"Defeat. This is me, a naked Dalek, your oldest enemy, Doctor."

"Stop it."

"Here I sit, imprisoned, unarmed, and still I have the last laugh."

"Shut up!" the Doctor snarled and punched the container. He grunted as his knuckles made solid contact. Nothing happened to the container, but there was a definite crunch in the Doctor's hand. He sucked in a breath and stamped his foot as pain lanced through his hand and up his arm. Only Susan was brave enough to approach him. She gently took his hand in hers, set and held the bones, and allowed a bit of regenerative energy to flow into him and heal the wound.

"Calm down, Grandfather," she said softly. "Remember you used to sit down with a cup of tea and think things over? I'm sure you can come up with a solution, but getting angry won't help. All right?"

The Doctor sighed in defeat. He clenched and unclenched his fist as the regeneration finished its work. "You're right. I think we all could use a cup of tea. Come along."

"I'll be up in a moment, Doctor," Jack called after them. "What do you want done with this stuff?"

"Bring the systems up; we'll connect them to the console later. Get rid of the casing."

But event as they were leaving, the Dalek was still going on. "Hehehehe, poor Doctor. Run, Doctor! Run for as long as you can…because the Daleks will get you…"

* * *

"So, what's our next move?" Jenny asked as they all sat down around a table, each with a cup of tea.

"We should map out the Dalek systems in greater detail," Jack suggested. "If we can do that, we can at least narrow down which ones might be used to reverse this."

"How do we do that?" Rose wondered. "How do we know which ones will have any effect?"

"I think we can rule out the gun," John threw in.

"How many systems does a Dalek have?" Susan inquired.

"Thirty-seven," River answered, not missing a beat.

"So, we're down to thirty-six," Jenny stated. "Jack, you can probably map out the systems faster than anyone."

"The Tardis can do it faster," the Doctor cut in before Jack could speak. "That's why we're going to wire them together."

"Then we can cross-reference them with the medical readout and hopefully find an answer," River went on. "Or at least a direction."

"Well then," Susan said, standing. "I've had quite enough of this. I'll get started on the wiring."

"You can't do that," Jack blurted.

"Oh? Why not?"

"Jack, she knows more about alien tech than even you do," John told him.

Jack was at a loss. "I was only saying that…"

"What?" Susan challenged. "Because I'm a girl, I don't know how to do some heavy-duty Tardis wiring? All I have to do is link the primary power source to the Tardis power outlet and run a second line to a fail-safe switch to keep it from overloading or trying to access the main computer. Then I can link each system to the basic readout as well as organic diagnostics, failure diagnostics, and the external keyboard. After that, I can-"

"All right," River interrupted. "I think you've made your point. Go on."

Susan gave Jack a look and bounded off to begin her work.

* * *

Jack, John, the Doctor, and the others arrived later to see Susan just finishing hooking up the Dalek systems to the Tardis.

"She doesn't like this hooking up to the Dalek system," Susan said, looking at River who pulled down the monitor and began tapping away at buttons and knobs on the console.

"What are you doing?" the Doctor wondered.

River gave him a look. "Easing her pain. The Tardis is certainly capable of keeping control over that 'monstrosity' as she puts it, but she doesn't like it." Her head snapped back to the console. "Now don't give me that attitude!"

"She can actually hear the Tardis?" John whispered to the Doctor.

"Just like I can," he hissed back. "Do you still hear her?"

"I can feel her, certainly, but not hear her as I once did."

"Still do."

The former Time Lord gave him a look. "But how?"

"I'll show you later."

"All right," River said, relieved. "That's a good girl. Now then, what can you give us?" She did some more things; the screen changed quickly and eventually just went to a "progress" screen. River turned back to the group. "We'll have our results momentarily."

Even as she finished, the bar filled and results started pouring across the screen. River, the Doctor, Susan, and John all crowded around the screen trying to read it.

"So, what does it say?" Rose asked.

River shook her head. "Nothing useful."

"Nothing useful," the Doctor scoffed. "Of course there is something useful in all this. We've narrowed down our possible solutions from a thirty-seven to nineteen."

"How do you figure?"

"Can't you read?" John asked.

"See these?" Susan said, pointing. She quickly launched into a detailed, technical, and anatomical explanation that only the Doctor and John really would have understood. River picked up on pieces of it, Jack and Jenny looked rather intrigued, but Rose was completely lost.

"Well, that's great," the Doctor said after Susan finished. "Means we have it down to seven possible solutions."

"How do we narrow it down further?" Jack wondered.

The Doctor sighed. "Well, we have to return to the Matron. She may have some insight."

"It just killed you to say that," River stated.

"You've no idea."

"All right," Susan said, leaving the screen to take a position around the controls. "Destination, New Earth."

"To see the Matron," John confirmed, also finding a spot.

"Geronimo!" the Doctor cried as he pulled the lever.

John looked at him. "Don't. No, don't do that. Seriously."

"I thought we already went over this." The Doctor collapsed into the seat. "I am the Doctor now. You are a human passenger."

"We share nine hundred years!"

"And I've lived the last five hundred very happily without you!"

"Doctor!" River snapped.

"Well it's only been five for me, and I still can't adjust to domestic life!"

"John!" Rose barked.

"Yeah, well I've known three of you and since I can't die, I might just live to know the rest of you!" Jack threw in.

Everyone looked at him.

"Are you part of this?" John demanded.

"No. But I've seen enough that-"

His sentence was cut off as the Tardis suddenly jerked, throwing everyone off-balance. The four Tardis pilots all clambered around, trying to diagnose the problem. Jack and Jenny made a dive for the Dalek systems, both to rescue them and disconnect them from the Tardis. Rose clung to the railing, trying to stay out of the way.

"What's going on?" Jack cried over the shaking and rumbling. "Did we fall out of the time vortex?"

"We didn't fall!" River reported. "We're being pulled out!"

"Pulled out by what?" Jenny asked.

"Hold on!" John interrupted.

There was a final jolt, throwing everyone to the floor, then all was still. No one wasted a moment checking balance or getting bearings. As soon as possible, they were all on their feet and awaiting some sort of explanation.

"So, what happened?" Jenny breathed. "How did we get pulled out?"

"It would have to be something very powerful," the Doctor and John said simultaneously. They glanced at each other and the Doctor went on. "No ordinary tractor beam or weapons' fire could do anything like that."

"No, it would have to be some sort of gravity pulse," John continued, "fired at the exact moment we entered the vortex."

"Doctor," Rose said from the doorway.

"Not now, Rose, we're trying to figure this out," the Doctor said.

"But a gravity pulse doesn't just appear," Jack pointed out. "And there weren't any ships around that I saw."

"Doctor," Rose pressed.

"Could it have been cloaked?" River wondered.

"No. Even if it had been cloaked, the energy to fire a gravity pulse would have to build over a long period of time, and that energy would have been detected by the Tardis," John explained.

"Could we have been hit while in the vortex?" Susan ventured. "Maybe a passing blow caught us by accident?"

"Doctor!" Rose cried.

"Yes, Rose, what is it?" the Doctor said, turning to her.

"You might want to see this."

Only a tad frustrated, the Doctor descended from the platform and went to the door. A chill ran through him, the same chill that swept over the others as they went to the door.

Outside the Tardis, the entire Dalek fleet sat, waiting for them.

The Doctor swallowed and wondered absently, "Anyone here think we have a valuable hostage in that Dalek downstairs?"


	15. Plans and Plots

The last time the Doctor had been in front of the Dalek emperor, it was just prior to being shot at a planet to, ironically, save the Daleks. He doubted they were back for seconds. John, Susan, and Jenny were brought forward with him while River, Jack, and Rose were kept off to the side.

"Welcome, Doctor," the Dalek emperor taunted.

"You remember me!" the Doctor said cheerfully. "Even after Oswin wiped your memories!"

"A fragment of information remained. And we found an old Dalek whose systems were not affected. We reinstalled all knowledge of you, Oncoming Storm."

"And you wanted to have a little celebration! How sweet!"

"No, Doctor."

"No? Such a pity."

"I'm liking my future self less and less," John murmured.

"And you!" the emperor cut in, making them all jump. "You, the half-human, half-Time Lord. The child born of blood and battle who destroyed Davros and crippled the Dalek fleet! You will cease talking!"

"What for?" John asked. "What's a little talking going to do?"

"You will cease talking! You will be experimented upon in our plans! Take him to the laboratories."

"John!" Rose cried as he was led away.

"And just what are your plans?" Jenny demanded.

"And you, the person created only from a few cells of the Doctor's hand but never really considered a Time Lord. You will also be studied."

She would have loved to blast a hole in the Dalek emperor's encasement, but her blaster had been confiscated upon capture. Instead she settled for a good glare.

"You still haven't answered the question," Susan said hotly. "What are your plans? I assume you have something to do with Grandfather's terrible illness; now you're going to tell us what that is all about!"

"It is not an illness, child," the emperor purred. "Even you, living, hiding, out of sight of every race in the galaxy, have not forgotten your extensive knowledge of illnesses."

"If it's not an illness, then what is it?" River called out.

"Live dissection." When all was silent, the emperor continued. "After many calculations and simulations, we have concluded that the only thing in the universe superior to the Daleks is the Time Lord's ability to regenerate. So we set out to reproduce such a phenomenon. After many experiments, we concluded that we could not reproduce the effect ourselves."

"So you sought out to kill me," the Doctor said.

"Once you are incapacitated, we will extract the regenerative energy from your body and graft it into the Daleks. Then we shall be all-powerful."

"And how do you propose to do this, exactly? Regeneration has been tailored specifically for Time Lords."

"There are billions of cells in your body, Doctor. We need only one of them. If we fail once, we have billions more attempts." The emperor gargled and the assembled non-Daleks quickly realized it was laughter, or what approximated laughter to a Dalek. "Surely you heard what happened to the Time Lords captured during the War? At the prison camps? If you think this 'illness' is bad, Doctor, just wait until the tests begin. As I understand it, the 'illness' only kills the body, the muscle, but not the mind or the nerves. And the things we have in store for your friends…"

"You leave them alone!" the Doctor snarled, moving forward but unable to go far before he was surrounded and forced back.

"Take them to the holding cells," the emperor ordered.

* * *

The holding cells were not adjacent to the testing laboratories. There were only four cells, made of traditional iron bars, two of which became occupied by the captives. Rose, Jack, and River sat in one cell while the Doctor, John, Susan, and Jenny sat in the other.

"So, Doctor," River said. "What's your plan, then?"

The Doctor took a slow breath and sighed just as slowly. "I don't know yet. I'm still thinking."

"You might want to think faster," Jack told him, "because here they come."

"Jenny, come here."

Jenny went and stood before her father. They studied each other for a moment. Jenny broke the silence first. "They're coming for me first, aren't they?"

"I don't know," the Doctor admitted. "Maybe. Possibly. If they do, I can guarantee that whatever they do is going to hurt."

"It's not your fault."

"I'm not saying it is. Look…" He bit his lip. "I'm sorry I brushed you off. And I am very sorry I've not been a very good father."

"What are you trying to say?"

"Time Lords have a way of…separating from pain. Most humans can't do this but…_we_ can."

"How?"

"You have to split your mind," Susan interrupted. "Then you have to make both of them recess from consciousness. Put the pain in one part of your mind, and your self in the other."

"How do I do that?"

"They're coming this way," John reported.

"Doctor!" Jenny hissed.

He huffed. "I'll show you how to do it yourself later, but now we don't have time."

Once again, the Doctor put his forehead against Jenny's and easily entered her mind. She melted under the touch and was amazed that he actually split her mind. It didn't hurt and felt quite natural. It was like veiling one eye; it was still useful and you could get see fuzzy images, but most of your input came from the unveiled eye. When the Doctor finally released her, she felt weak yet powerful…and quite like wearing a translucent mental eye patch.

"We require the girl," one of the three Daleks stated. "You will come with us."

"Which girl?" the Doctor dared ask.

"The offspring of the Time Lord but has never seen the home planet."

Jenny was taken away, looking somewhat passive, but her mental alertness touched on the edge of their shared telepathic field.

And then they were gone and that was that. The Doctor leaned against the bars and watched after them even after they'd been long gone.

"I know that look," Jack said. "What are you thinking?"

"Do you have a plan?" Rose asked.

"No, he's considering something odd," River scolded them. "Look at the way he taps his finger and his brows furrow."

"If you're quite done psychoanalyzing me, I'll be happy to tell you what's on my mind," the Doctor told them irritably.

"What's wrong, Grandfather?" Susan pressed.

"They asked for Jenny, but they didn't ask for 'Jenny.' They asked for my daughter. My daughter who has never been to Gallifrey. How would they know that?"

"I don't get it," Rose said. "The Daleks know she's your daughter and that she hasn't seen your home planet. So what?"

"Right," Jack agreed. "I mean, they could have done a bio-scan on all of us when they captured us. They see that she is made from your DNA, but also that she's too young to have seen home. I don't understand why you're upset."

"Yes, but that's it. They asked for my offspring who's never seen home. And they asked for a human Time Lord. Why not ask for, for the human-Time Lord metacrisis or the once-Time Lord who became human or anything like that? Or why not ask for the blond one?" He stomped a foot and put both hands on the bars. "Something is going on here, something besides this 'illness' and I need to know what."

"Calm down, sweetie," River said calmly. "Beating on the bars never solved anything."

"Don't you have your sonic screwdriver?" Rose wondered.

"No," the Doctor sighed, sliding down the bars to sit on the floor. "They took it." He scoffed. "They finally learned to take it. I'd hoped they never would."

"What about the Tardis? Is that all right?"

"She's fine. She won't open her doors for anyone but me and my friends. She'll keep everyone else out, especially the Daleks."

"All right." River clapped her hands together. "So, what's your plan then?"


	16. Hall of Mirrors

Only the Doctor and Susan were awake when Jenny and John were returned. John did not say a word, merely stumbled to a corner and collapsed in a heap, asleep in moments. Jenny managed to sit at least semi-gracefully and put her head between her knees. The Doctor and Susan rushed to her.

"Jenny? Jenny, are you all right?" the Doctor asked fearfully, holding her head in his hands. "Speak to me! Did they hurt you?"

Jenny's lips moved slightly, but she said nothing. He studied her closer.

"What's wrong with her?" Susan asked.

"She's sunk too far into herself; her mind is split into over two dozen little pieces but she's lost control and is spread out over all of them. I've got to find her."

When he entered her mind this time, however, he found an emotional tsunami. Pain, fear, confusion, loss, desperation, all floated around in her mind, moving between pieces of her mind. And Jenny was in those pieces also, a little bit in each one, so little it was like an echo or a shadow of her. It was sort of like walking into a hall of mirrors. Everything was a reflection, a fuzzy reflection. But where was Jenny?

He found her a few moments later, tucked away safely in a corner free of the maelstrom raging elsewhere.

"Father," she whispered audibly.

"Jenny, there you are," the Doctor said, relieved.

"I don't know what I did. I don't know what happened."

"No, it's my fault. It's something that must be taught and carefully monitored. But I'm going to bring you back now, all right?"

"All right."

"Just come with me. You feel me? Come with that; come with me."

The Doctor had meant for it to be a slow retreat, a slow closing of the mind. Instead, it was like being sucked out through a vacuum. He landed safely back in his own mind, but Jenny's landing was less gentle. She came to, her eyes flying open and a huge, desperate gasp erupting from her throat. Her breathing became short as she held her abdomen and fell into the Doctor's arms. He held her and ran his fingers through her hair.

"No, no, it's all right. You separated yourself from your emotions and now you've rejoined. I know, it can be a little overwhelming. But it's all right; it'll be all right, I promise."

Eventually her breathing deepened and she turned to look up at him. She managed a small smile. "Father?"

"Yes, Jenny, I'm here."

Her smile faded. "What happened? I don't remember."

The Doctor frowned. "No, you wouldn't. You separated yourself too far to retain any lasting impressions." He sighed. "But you know what? I am very, _very_ glad for that."

"What about me?"

They looked over at John who was barely conscious. He heaved a huge sigh and a groan as he rolled onto his back.

"Do you remember anything?" the Doctor asked.

John struggled to take a full breath before replying, "Not much. Human memory is so…so unreliable."

"I thought you still had a Time Lord's mind?"

"The bits and pieces of how it all got sorted out didn't fall equally. I managed to split my mind to avoid the pain, but the memories…I'll have to go back for them tomorrow. I think…I think I dropped them on the way back."

"Are you sick?"

"No, not at all."

"Yes, you are. You sound intoxicated." The Doctor gently left Jenny with Susan and moved over to John.

"Only mildly." He gritted his teeth as he shifted uncomfortably. "Something they gave me, tried to lower my defenses. It didn't really work."

"Didn't _really_ work?"

"Ugh…I don't remember. I can't remember. I…I need to rest a while."

"Yeah. You do that, John."

He wasted no time in dropping off. Across the cell, Jenny had also dozed off. Susan looked at him worriedly. "What did the Daleks do to them, Grandfather? Are they going to do this to us? Or to River and Rose and Jack?"

"I don't know and I don't know." The Doctor sighed and sat against the bars facing the other cell. "And I won't know until I know the full extent of their plans."

"They want the ability to regenerate," Susan said. "Unless you're still going on about the way they asked for Jenny."

"That is part of it, but it's…bigger than that. I won't know until I get in there."

"And what if you come back like them? What if they do something to you and you come back not remembering a thing you may have learned?"

"Then I'll be no worse for wear, will I?"

"She's got a point, Doctor," Jack said from the semi-darkness.

"And what would you have me do?"

"Go ahead, do what you need to do. But you're not alone in this."

"What are you talking about, Captain?"

"You split your mind to avoid the pain, and whatever they're doing, it's affecting your memories."

"Their memories, Jack. An almost-Time Lord and a once-Time Lord. But if they took Susan and I, full, real Time Lords, we might stand a chance."

"Doctor, you didn't call us to watch you die. You called us because you knew we could help."

"And how could you help? By dying?"

Jack nodded. "Exactly."

"Jack-"

"Doc, my most vivid memories are the ones I have just before I die. If I went and caused enough ruckus that they were forced to kill me, I could remember and come back to report what I saw and heard."

"Jack, they would kill you and incinerate you. There's no coming back from that."

"No, I think they've learned from the last time that I don't stay dead for long."

"Oh good, so they'll skip killing you and send you straight to the incinerator. That's great."

"At least give me a chance."

The Doctor sighed. "I don't have to tell you how to fight for survival, Captain. If you get taken, you do what you need to do. But your number one priority should be getting out alive. Or, not on your way to the incinerator. Everything else is secondary. Understand?"

"Got it."


	17. Escape

Unfortunately, neither Jack nor the Doctor was taken the following morning. Instead, Susan, River, and Rose were herded from the cells into the laboratory. When the men tried to protest, Jack was given a glancing shot from a Dalek gun. Then it was trained on the Doctor.

"Leave it, honey," River told them. "You're no use dead."

"But you…" the Doctor protested, pressing against the bars as they went past.

"I'll be fine. We'll all be fine." But the uncertainty in her eye betrayed a deeper fear.

"Stay safe."

It was useless sentiment and then they were gone. The Doctor sighed and slumped against the wall.

"Jack, are you all right?" Jenny called across.

"It's not the worst thing that's happened to me," the captain replied tightly. "I'll be fine."

"What about you, John?"

"I still can't remember anything," John replied. He hadn't moved an inch since being returned, still preferring to lie on the floor.

Jenny frowned. "Neither can I." She glanced at the Doctor. "Can you do anything about that? Can you retrieve my memories or show me how?"

"You split your mind and separated yourself from it, Jenny," the Doctor said slowly. "You cut yourself off almost completely. There is nothing to be retrieved; your brain made no memories of the event. You will always have a hole in your memory from it."

"But I won't."

They glanced over at John who slowly and painfully sat up. He heaved a sigh and ran a hand through his ever-anti-gravitous hair.

"You have memories?" Jenny asked hopefully.

"Tucked away somewhere," John replied. "It's been a while, but I know how to split my mind like that. Unfortunately, I can't quite sort out the memories." He shook his head. "This human Time Lord business is very frustrating sometimes."

"It sounds like it." The Doctor stood and walked over to kneel in front of John. "But you're sure you have memories about what happened?"

"Very sure."

"All right, then." He put his hands on the side of John's head. "Don't shut me out, whatever happens."

"Right."

Entering John's mind was like wading into a pool of crystal clear water. But while clear, it was also a perfect reflection. There were a few ripples where he'd lived his own life, but where he and the Doctor had once been one person, everything was absolutely clear.

"It's strange, seeing your life from the outside," John murmured.

"A bit like seeing the back of one's own head," the Doctor agreed.

Finally he found the muddy part of the pool, the place of unclear childhood memories, half-remembered dreams, and…there!

"I found them," the Doctor said. "They're a bit out of sync, out of focus, but I think I can untangle them."

"Speaking of out of sync, what about your wife? River?"

"What about her?"

"She doesn't feel right. She feels…out of sync with the rest of time, anachronistic."

"She's a time traveler. Quick and dirty time traveler, too; she prefers the portable vortex manipulators."

"That stuff's not good for you."

"No, but that's what she does. You're feeling the phase variance she accumulates when she uses that thing. Only the slightest variance, hardly a nanotick, but enough to pick up on."

"But why is she here? She died."

"It hasn't happened to her yet."

Something in John's mind clicked. "We're moving in opposite directions in time."

"No, _we_ are. You live in an alternate London with Rose."

"But you and River…I understand now. Oh, Doctor, what are you going to do when…?"

"I don't _know, all right?!_" He huffed as he pulled apart a few memories. "I don't know. I'll deal with it when we get there." A sigh. "All right, I have them all sorted out. They should be coming into focus pretty soon."

"Yes, they are already."

"So what's going to happen?" Jack asked from his cell.

"No sedation, but that's no surprise," the Doctor reported. "Subdermal needles to…oh…Oh, I see. Mm…"

"Care to share the findings for those of us who aren't telepathic?" Jack called.

"Hush, captain!" the Doctor snapped. "And then…oh. Oh, what's that? And Jenny…"

"What?" Jenny asked. "What about me?"

"No, that's not right. Oh…no! Don't do that…"

For a moment, the cells were silent except for the sheer anticipation. Suddenly, the Doctor jumped up, left John and practically threw himself through the cell bars. He clung to them, white-knuckled. "RIVER! River, _no!_"

"Doctor!" Jenny tried to yell over him. "Doctor, stop!" She grabbed his shoulders and forcibly spun him around to face her. "Doctor, pull yourself together! Stop it! Calm down." She took a breath. "Yelling isn't going to solve anything."

He pulled away from her and started pacing frantically.

"Doctor, what happened?" Jack inquired. "What did you see?"

The Doctor paced for several minutes more before even glancing at him. When he spoke, his voice was shaking and on the verge of sobs. "The Daleks…the Daleks know River had the ability to regenerate. They don't know she gave it up. They think she…they think she is still able to regenerate."

"But River isn't a Time Lord," Jenny said.

"Right. And they think that might give them an advantage so they don't have to wait for me or Susan or you. They're…" And here the Doctor let out his first sob. "They're going to try to rip the rest of the regenerations out of her."

Jenny put a hand to her mouth and Jack and John could only stare.

"So we better stop them then," Jack decided.

"How?" the Doctor asked almost unintelligibly.

"Like this."

And then he started screaming. Scream yell, bang on the cell bars, stomp, and scream and yell some more. It took several minutes, but eventually a Dalek appeared. Jack kept screaming his head off until the Dalek spoke.

"Cease yelling! You will explain yourself!" it commanded.

"I want out!" Jack shouted. "Let me out!"

"You will cease yelling! Now! Cease!"

"Come in here and make me!"

"Jack!" Jenny cried.

But the Dalek took the bait and opened the cell door. As it entered, Jack danced to the side to get behind it. He didn't waste a moment before dashing out of the cell and pulling the door closed, locking the Dalek inside.

"Watch its gun!" John called.

"I got this, former Doctor," Jack assured him.

The Dalek hovered to the door. The eyestalk, gun, and plunger appendage all poked through the bars. Mustering all his strength, Jack had only slight trouble breaking off all three appendages against the bars. While the Dalek shrieked and waved the little broken stubs in fear and outrage, Jack scooped up the plunger to open the other cell door.

"Why did you wait so long to do that?" the Doctor demanded.

"Because I didn't want anyone else to be in the way, in the line of fire," Jack said hotly.

"This isn't accomplishing anything," Jenny told them. She glanced at John. "Let's go."

"So where are we going?" Jack asked as he and Jenny fell in behind the Doctor and John.

"Out for a stroll," the Doctor replied grudgingly.


	18. He's the Doctor

It would have been very considerate of the Daleks to position the laboratory in the next room, but they weren't the considerate type. Only John's fragmented memories of the trip kept them on track as one corridor would sometimes branch into two or three or there might be lifts or, occasionally, stairwells. They would have made tremendous progress except for having to dart into a crevice or evade detection by the Daleks roaming the ship.

"Why haven't we raised any alarms?" Jenny asked.

"They probably figure there's no need to put a serious watch on us," John said. "After all, we're being held in the heart of the mother ship of the Dalek fleet. What are we going to do?"

"What about security cameras?"

"No need, same reason."

"This is the last lift," the Doctor said, checking the corridor and darting across to the controls, Jack by his side with the Dalek plunger, or "operating arm" as they'd heard in a brief aside. The lift opened and they piled in. The Doctor pushed the down button and all that was left to do was wait.

"How bad is it?" Jack asked as the Doctor scratched irritably at a rash on his neck, the prelude to total decay.

"I can still move," the Doctor informed him sharply. He scratched again.

Jack frowned. "So, how do we want to do this? Not exactly like we can barge in guns blazing. Our weapons amount to…a plunger."

"I vote Jack goes first," the Doctor snickered.

"Doctor," Jenny said.

"No, I'm fine with that," Jack insisted. "How many do we assume there are?"

"Always assume there are more than you would sanely attack," John told him. "Let's say ten."

"But you've been there," Jenny pointed out. "We both have. How many were there?"

"Five," the Doctor answered when John couldn't think. "There were five."

"Five versus four," Jack stated. "I like it."

"Five Daleks versus two humans and two Time Lords," John corrected. "I don't like it."

"Well we can't change anything now, because this is our stop."

It was a short walk down an empty corridor to a door that looked very much like every other door. But this was the laboratory, no doubt about it.

"Everybody ready?" Jack hissed, readying the plunger to open the door.

"Ready as we'll ever be," John mused. "Let's go."

The door slid open with ease and Jack charged in, yelling like a mad man. The Daleks inside, only four in number, startled and looked around.

"Grab whatever you can find!" the Doctor ordered, picking up what looked like some sort of cutting tool. Indeed it was; when he got the modified device to work, it looked very much like a blowtorch.

He ducked just in time to avoid Dalek gunfire. He leapt behind a cabinet just as Jenny sprinted across the room and jammed a sharp pry-bar-like rod into one of the Daleks between the cap and body casing. The Dalek screamed but ultimately shorted out. Meanwhile, Jack had jammed one end of the broken plunger into another Dalek's gun at the same time it tried to fire. The shot backfired and the Dalek's cap blew off as it imploded.

"Two left," Jenny breathed as she scooted in on one side of the Doctor and Jack on the other.

"Where's John?" the Doctor wondered.

"Across the room," Jack replied. "He's tinkering with something."

"What? No!" The Doctor scrambled to his hands and knees. "I do the tinkering!"

Before either Jack or Jenny could stop him, he was slinking around the room, avoiding the Daleks who seemed to be at a loss as to what to do, but were still hunting them. He found John almost directly across the room, putting some contraption together.

"What are you doing?" the Doctor demanded.

John didn't even look up. "If I can modify this blowtorch and this cutting-"

The Doctor grabbed the thing and tried to jerk it away from him. "No! I'm the Doctor; I do the tinkering!"

"And I still retain all of my intelligence and creativity from when _we_ were the Doctor. If it helps us, what do you care who makes it? What if Jack or Jenny built this?"

"Jenny is my daughter and I would be very proud of her!"

"And Jack?"

"Well, he's Jack."

"So you have a problem with me, is that it?"

"I-"

"Cease talking!"

Neither man had noticed that their voices had been growing steadily louder, nor that they'd been standing and still fighting over the apparatus. Now the two Daleks were right there in front of them, guns at the ready. John dropped the contraption.

"He's the Doctor."

* * *

The Doctor and John were taken away, but not back to the cells. Jack and Jenny followed at a safe distance as they were taken instead to the same part of the laboratory where Rose, River, and Susan were being kept, all strapped down to operating tables.

"Doctor!" River said wearily.

"Don't worry, River," the Doctor told her. "We got this under control."

Even as he spoke, the door was shut. But Jack and Jenny had slipped in. Now they sprang at the Daleks and jammed rods in between the caps and body casings. The Daleks shrieked but shorted out before anything could be done. Jack and Jenny pushed them easily away while the Doctor and John worked on freeing their wives and granddaughter. Rose appeared unconscious but roused and managed to stand with John's help. Susan slid to the floor and assured them she only needed a bit of rest. River sat up and the Doctor helped her down like a gentleman opening a carriage door for a proper lady.

"Are you all right?" the Doctor asked worriedly.

"A bit foggy in the head, but fine," River told him.

"John showed me what they were going to do to you; did they touch you at all?"

"No, not yet. Just a sedative of some sort." She rubbed her temple. "It's still quite heavy in my system."

"I thought you said they didn't use sedation," Jack said while he worked on permanently disabling the Dalek guns.

The Doctor left River to study the fluids around the tables. They weren't clear like anesthesia, instead having an amber tint to them. Taking a needle, the Doctor poked a hole in one and dabbed a bit on his finger, then left the bag to dribble out.

"Canyi till wha i-is?" Rose asked drunkenly.

"Not sticky at all, not an oil…lightweight, lighter than water even…" He licked it, then promptly spit it out with a gob of phlegm. "Tastes like…pickles-no! Relish."

"So what does that mean?" Jenny wondered.

"This is an isolation compound, designed to attach to a specific property of a certain system, highlight it so it will show up on a scan and then magnetize it or some such thing so it can be easily removed or manipulated. In this case, regenerative energy."

"Bit I dun have reg'n'rtiv inerzhy," Rose slurred. "Why g'v it-o me?"

"Because," Susan said, standing, "the Daleks aren't able to normally isolate regenerative energy from the normal bodily compounds. That's why they took all of us. You, the human, with no energy; myself, with full regenerative energy; River, somehow both human but having that energy."

"They were going to rip the energy right out of your body," the Doctor told River grimly. "They were counting on the energy not being so discriminatory that they wouldn't have to wait for it to break down like it does with Susan or myself."

"But I don't have any regenerative energy anymore," River protested.

"Not according to these scans," John said across the room where a large computer displayed readouts from the isolating compound. Rose's scan on the right was completely gray. Susan's scan on the right was completely aglow, teeming with yellow and purple specks. River's scan, in the middle, had just a tiny trace of yellow and purple.

"Apparently, you still have some residual energy," the former Time Lord went on. "Not enough to regenerate completely, but…maybe enough to…put off death for a while, even suspend your consciousness."

The Doctor shot John a fierce look. River did not appear to notice.

"River, did they touch you?" the Doctor repeated after a moment of studying the scans.

"No, they didn't."

"Susan?"

"I'm fine, Grandfather."

"I hate to break up the party, but we're going to have company here pretty quick," Jack reported from where he and Jenny watched the door.

"Rose, can you run?" John asked his wife. When she gave him only a half-lucid glance, he looked at the Doctor. "She can move, but she'll need help."

"It'll be slow," River stated.

"We can't just leave her!"

"I would never suggest it." She turned and stumbled, catching herself on a tool cart and the Doctor's elbow. "What we need is a faster way out, something on wheels. A wheelchair or something. Where's the Tardis?"

"I don't know," the Doctor admitted.

"Can you hack into the computer and find out?" Jack suggested.

The Doctor and John immediately went to work, trying to break into the Dalek computer. After a moment, Susan joined them. Together they grumbled and growled and snapped at each other and worked.

"Guys, hurry it up," Jack warned. "Our escape won't go unnoticed forever."

"Ah, it's no use!" the Doctor said at last, hitting the computer. "The security system is too complex. We'll never break it in time."

"What if you didn't use the computer itself?" Jenny said.

"What do you mean?"

"These Daleks are higher up than the one we captured, they might know where the Tardis is."

"Yes, except these Daleks are dead." The Doctor sighed, leaned on the computer, and scratched irritably.

"But their data core isn't," River said, catching on. She approached a Dalek and started yanking on the pry-bar, trying to open up the casing. "Their orders must be recorded somewhere. If we can get to it or link it with the computer-"

"We can enter through the back door!" John finished. "Haha! River, I love you!"

"Oi, watch it, spaceman!" the Doctor said loudly.

"Watch out!" Jack said, taking the bar from River and putting all his strength behind the force that finally broke the casing open.

The smell of roasted flesh erupted from the casing, making everyone gag. Jack carefully reached in and pulled the Dalek steak from the shell and tossed it aside. With watering eyes, he picked through the systems, muttering, "When we wired the other one, the data core was right around…here! I got it!"

The data core was more like a removable hard drive in that it could be taken out and interchanged or inserted into any Dalek computer. Immediately, the monitor came alive with the Dalek's anatomy, schematics, history, orders, and memory. Memory which included the layout and inner workings of the ship and fleet.

"There!" Susan said, pointing. "Deck Delta-Chi, Corridor Dasia, Section Eight."

"Perfect!" The Doctor put a hand on her shoulder as she tapped some keys and plotted a route.

"Can you remember all this?" River wondered, studying the route.

"No problem!" The Doctor clapped both her and Susan on the back and turned to Jack and Jenny. He put his hands together. "All right, then. Plans…Jack, Jenny, go out ahead of the girls. This is a slow-moving group and we can't leave anything to chance. River, Susan, help Rose; keep her on her feet and quiet. John and I will cover the rear."

"With what? You lost your sonic screwdrivers," River said matter-of-fact.

"Oh? Then what are these in our pockets?" The Doctor and John withdrew their respective sonics. At a look from River, he continued, "They were stored with other tools in the lab where we were, ahem, captured."

"We swiped them when the Daleks weren't looking," John said. He pressed the button and the sonic glowed and made its noise. "Good as new."

The Doctor grinned and pushed the button on his sonic. It slid up and made its noise. "Mine's better."

"Does it have a wood setting?"

"Er…no. Not yet."

"Your argument is invalid."

"We're ready," River reported as she and Susan both put an arm around Rose. Still slightly inebriated, Rose tried to pull away, bumping into the IVs and knocking off the fluid bags. The plastic broke and the fluid went everywhere. Amid hisses of disgust from the people in the room was also the hiss of metal melting. They watched as the fluid touched the Dalek casing and melted them into molten slag.

"Of course…" the Doctor breathed.

"Guys, we've got to go!" Jack urged. "River, Susan, keep hold of Rose! Let's move it!"

Jack and Jenny left eagerly, assuring the women of the security of the next room. The Doctor and John remained in the lab.

"What are you thinking?" John inquired.

"The casing, it's melting. The isolation fluid is melting it," the Doctor mused.

"Yes?"

"But they still remain separate, not mixing, like oil and water."

"And you're thinking…oh…"

The Doctor grinned and John returned the smile. "Yup."

"Oh, you clever, sexy man."

Raising a brow, the Doctor turned and started to leave, poking John in the chest. "You spent too much time with Jack, I think."


	19. DoctorDalekbut not quite

The group made it to the lift without incident. The ride would be long and those still with fluid in their systems, and the people they were married or related to, sat against the bulkhead.

"My moth'rrr, diz not fine out bow this," Rose told John.

"No, but she'll wonder where we went off to; we were on our way to dinner after the park," John commented.

"You th'ng shill fig'r out were we win?"

"I don't know. It's not like we go off every weekend anymore. But I think she may figure it out eventually."

"God I hope we never become like them," River breathed.

The Doctor glanced at her. "Like what?"

"Domestic and boring."

"There's nothing wrong with home life," Susan commented. "I lived domestically for centuries."

"It's so dull and boring."

The Doctor shifted. "Are you saying I'm dull and boring?"

"No at all, sweetie. It's always an adventure with you."

"Only because of you."

"If you'll skip the flirting for a moment," Jenny said, "our stop's coming up."

The Doctor helped River and Susan to their feet and John did the same for Rose.

"All right, what do we have by way of weapons?" John asked as they took up formation.

"Well, we have our trusty plunger," Jack noted. "So getting in and out shouldn't be too much of a problem."

"I grabbed some knives and a cutting torch from the lab," Jenny said, procuring said items. "And also a crowbar. And maybe a few other odds and ends that I'm not actually sure what they're supposed to do."

"I also retrieved this for you, Doctor, John." Jack fished out the apparatus they'd been arguing over. "Not sure what you want it to do, but here you go."

"And what do you have?" John asked as the Doctor eagerly snatched the apparatus and started working.

"My good looks and charm." The captain flashed a winning smile. "And a modified Dalek gun." He showed off the oddity. "I took it off one in the lab. A few wires, a power source, and it's as good as any blaster. Maybe even better."

"You remember where we're going?" Susan wondered.

"Of course. The closer we get to the Tardis, the more Daleks will be around."

"Are you sure about that?" River demanded.

"Nope." The lift bell chimed. "And here we go!"

Jack and Jenny led the charge out of the elevator, taking three Daleks by surprise, blasting one and disabling another before the third could get in any position to fire. The Doctor and John shuffled the women into a corner and stood before them, sonic screwdrivers ready. The Dalek spun and tried to get off shots as Jack and Jenny dashed back and forth across the corridor, getting closer and trying to get off shots of their own.

"We've got company!" John shouted from the corner.

Giving him half a glance, Jack leapt forward, straight at the Dalek and fired off several shots. The cap popped off and the front exploded as if its gun backfired.

"Come on!" the captain cried, leading the charge down another corridor, the last corridor before the Tardis if the map was right. He easily took care of another Dalek and went to scout the perimeter while Jenny, John, and the Doctor helped the women. Susan was completely recovered and River could have walked on her own if she wasn't supporting Rose who was still quite out of sorts.

"Jack!" Jenny hissed, jerking her head toward the door.

Everyone pressed close to the wall on either side of the door, Jack and Jenny the closest on either side.

"I'll blast it down to surprise them," Jack decided. "River and Susan, get Rose to shelter. Doctor, you, Jenny, and John cover them until they're safe. Ready? Doctor, would you care to do the honors?"

The Doctor shot John a snide look. "I would love to, captain."

The door was soon gone in a cloud of smoke and the Doctor cried, "Geronimo!"

Jack ran in screaming like a mad man and blasting in every direction while River and the other crept in, low to the ground, searching for a hiding spot. They found a spot under a table or shelf of some sort. Jenny left to help Jack. River started to crawl out but the Doctor caught her wrist.

"Where do you think you're going?"

"I'm surprised at you, Doctor. Why aren't you helping your friends? That's where I'm going."

"You're in no condition to help."

"But they need me."

"Why?"

"Listen, Doctor."

"What? I'm listening."

"No, Doctor. _Listen._"

He did. There was Susan's nervous breathing, Rose's heavy breathing, Jack's blasting, Jenny's running. And there was the crackle of smoke and cinder in the air. Jack's gun was on its last legs and puffed a cloud of smoke with each shot. But that was all.

The Doctor stood suddenly and scrambled forward.

"Stop!" he screeched. "No, stop! Stop what you're doing! Jack! Jenny!"

The duo looked uncertain as they skidded to a stop.

"What?" Jack asked breathlessly.

"Listen," the Doctor whispered.

"There's nothing," Jenny said.

Jack put his hands on his hips and looked around. "So what have we been shooting at?"

"Nothing," John said, standing. "We came in shooting and never bothered to stop and look."

"But look there," River said, pointing.

The smoke was clearing and there in the middle of the room was the Tardis, the light on the top beginning to pierce the thick gray clouds.

"I'd thought it would be more heavily guarded," Jack said matter-of-fact, walking up to it.

"Don't! Stop!" River barked.

Now the room was clear, the Tardis fully visible. Around it was a shining blue ring, a temporal lock. Even if they could get inside the Tardis, they could never go anywhere.

"So how d'we get it off?" Rose asked blearily, standing and staggering forward.

"You don't," a new voice gurgled.

From the shadows beyond the Tardis emerged the Dalek emperor and at least two dozen Daleks, all with guns pointed at the group. Behind them, another half dozen Daleks guarded the entrance.

"But why didn't you stop us in the lab?" the Doctor wondered. "Or at any time up here?"

"Oh, but we are stopping you now up here," the emperor said. "We always knew where you were, Doctor."

"How-?"

"The tracking device, sweetie," River told him.

The Doctor furrowed his brows. "I…I don't get it, though. A hundred years I've had the probe, thirty-seven years the tracking device has been transmitting. Why wait so long? The Daleks have never been so patient."

"We would have waited longer, as long as it took, Doctor," the lump of a Dalek informed him. "Then we were made aware of a certain piece of leverage we could use to draw you to us."

"What leverage would that be?" John asked.

"Did you never wonder about the coincidence between your 'illness' and your granddaughter?"

Realization dawned in the Doctor as he turned to face Susan who could only return the glance and blink disbelievingly.

"Susan?" River wondered, echoing everyone's thoughts.

"Yes. We found your granddaughter, Doctor, living a shadow of a life, hiding from everything else in the galaxy. A regular human." He paused as the Doctor fought for composure. "We planted the Time Thread for you to find, Doctor. Then we could capture the last two Time Lords. And then your daughter showed up."

"What about Jenny?" the Doctor demanded hoarsely.

"We captured her vessel some years ago. We did not believe our scanners, a Time Lord not of Gallifrey." Beat. "We attempted an earlier version of this more perfect 'illness' but she escaped before it was completed. She ran off with our prototype, a mere regenerative inhibitor."

"That's why Jenny's never been able to fully regenerate, not physically," John said conclusively. "She may heal and recover and come back, like Jack, but can't change appearance. Though she still has the regeneration limit."

"And now she has kindly returned with our prototype," the emperor went on. "Not that it matters; we already have you, Doctor. You have no escape."

"Neither do you," Jenny interrupted, slowly approaching the Daleks.

"Jenny, get back here!" Jack hissed.

"What are you saying?" the emperor asked, more amused than anything. "We are superior!"

"You were working on a sort of Dalek cross-clone, to give yourselves the ability to regenerate." Jenny laughed dryly. "Well, you got your cross-clone, Emperor. But it's not the one you expected."

Her hands began to glow then and a mist formed. It bore a striking resemblance to regenerative energy except that it was blue, Tardis blue in fact. Though they kept their guns trained on the group, the Daleks parted as Jenny approached and reached for the temporal lock.

"Jenny, no!" Rose spoke out lucidly. "You'll be killed!"

"No, she won't," the Doctor said, awed. "From her, the Daleks didn't become part Time Lord. She became part Dalek. She has control of their technology in astounding ways."

"Why didn't you see this in her memories?" Susan wondered.

"Because she didn't remember until just now. And if I'm right…"

He didn't get to finish before Jenny grabbed the locking ring with both hands and all her strength. The Doctor and the group hit the floor but the Daleks could not escape the explosion that rocked the room as the temporal lock split, like an atom. The Doctor and John were the first to chance a look. Jenny was still holding on, trembling like a current ran through her. The ghost of the ring still encircled the Tardis but was flowing into her. Around the room, the Daleks were either exploded or disabled, eye pieces dim and guns limp.

"Now's our chance!" the Doctor decided, sprinting forward to grab Jenny.

A shock struck him, but he held on. Jenny was still trembling but he pried her hands off the ghost ring which dissipated. She gasped once and fell unconscious. As he picked her up, River was already opening the Tardis door. John was guiding Rose forward while Jack kept the room covered. Susan went in and the Doctor, with Jenny, was the last in.

Once inside, River, Susan, and John were busy around the controls.

"Get us out of here, River!" the Doctor ordered as he went around the controls and up the stairs to Jenny's room.

Then they were on their way. As near as could be told, the Daleks were not in pursuit. No one could quite rest easy, but the tension in the Tardis was starting to relax.

"Will she be all right?" Jack asked from the doorway.

"Fine," the Doctor answered. "Absolutely fine."

"So, she's half-Dalek?" Rose wondered.

"Well, not in the sense that she is dangerous or in danger of turning on us. I suspect that when they captured her and tried to experiment on her, she absorbed their technology, their capabilities. She became 'compatible' with their systems. I imagine this caused quite a stir within the Dalek ranks. Whatever happened, she broke out of the lab, out of the ship, but at the cost of her memory."

"And you don't think she'll remember this either, do you?"

"She just simultaneously exploded and absorbed a temporal lock. No, I don't think she'll remember it. And I also think it would be wise to not remind her of it."

Jack raised a brow. "Why? She just took out-"

"No, Jack, he's right," John murmured. "She can't remember what has transpired, what she did. She is a part of the Dalek systems, but just barely. And there is no telling what would happen if those memories surfaced." He gave the Doctor a sad, knowing glance. "Sometimes, memories must remain closed in order to protect the individual's mind."

"You looked her up?" the Doctor wondered absently.

"Yes, I did."

"Well, she ought to rest," Rose suggested.

They filed out of the room. The Doctor was the last out and silently closed the door. River leaned against the wall, arms folded. He gave her a look and a gesture and they walked in the opposite direction of the others.

"And for all that, we still don't know what to do about your illness," River sighed. "How bad is it?"

Without missing a beat, he undid his bowtie and shirt and shrugged off his jacket. The flesh over almost all of his back, up part of his neck, down to his elbow, and even creeping down his chest was black and flaking and rotten-looking.

"So, what's your plan, then? How are we going to find a cure?"

The Doctor gave her another look and grinned. "Oh, I know what needs to be done."


	20. Timey-Wimey Paradox

"You're not making any sense, Doctor," Jack said bluntly. "What's all this about-"

" 'Scuse me, captain, but I am making _perfect_ sense. You just can't keep up. Susan, tell him."

"The metal separating his cells is the same as the one used to make the Dalek armor," Susan started slowly. "What we need to do, is super-heat the Dalek casing, get it so it is just melting. Then we super-heat the metal in Grandfather's flesh, also so it is just melting. Then we can join the two. It's just like water attracting water."

"Water is one thing, darling," River pointed out. "But this is the Daleks' special alloy grafted into flesh that we're discussing."

"Daleks can survive impossible situations," Rose said. "How hot would it have to be, anyway?"

"Millions of degrees," Jack told her. "Billions."

"And what about you?" River inquired. "You could never survive that sort of heat."

"Just generating that sort of heat would melt everything within a lightyear or more," John put in. "Not to mention the power source itself."

The Doctor grinned then. Jack and Susan caught on first and returned the grin. River gave him a look. John smiled crookedly and nodded.

"Wibbly-wobbly," John said.

"Timey-wimey," the Doctor concluded.

"You're mad," River hissed.

"What?" Rose asked, unable to stop herself from smiling as if she understood.

"A paradox," John explained. "A very special and tough-to-create, never mind sustain, paradox."

"But I'm sure it will work," the Doctor chuckled. "Because if I'm right, and I usually am with these sorts of things, then we'll have a visitor from the future coming here pretty soon to talk us through what we need to do. Then all we have to do is follow their instructions, remember what they say so we can send the same message back to ourselves in the past. Which is now. At least, that's what I would do."

"Wouldn't that be crossing your own timestream, though?" Rose wondered.

"Not if it was a timed program."

They all looked around for the new voice. It sounded like the Doctor, but when they spotted him, it was obvious it was a computer program.

"Those rules don't apply if you're a computer program," digi-Doctor told her, approaching.

"Most rules don't seem to apply to you, Doctor," River scoffed.

"I heard that, River!"

Rose furrowed her brows. "It's like he's actually talking to us."

"Well of course," Jack said. "He doesn't make this until our future."

"We can talk as much as we like because we're the ones who will make this," John butted in. "So everything that you see before you is a result of what we do here."

"The longer you talk, the more you will have to remember, though, so procrastinate at your own risk," digi-Doctor informed them. "Though you do seem to be doing a good job so far. Now then, down to business. You were standing around just assuming that you would succeed in your little metal-melting venture of yours and then you could package up the instructions and send them back in time where you could follow them to completion."

Beat.

"What?" digi-Doctor wondered, looking off somewhere else. "Wha-oh, there's not? You said someone asked something here. Yes, you wrote-" He shook his head and turned back to address the present group. "At any rate, you were right." He started to undo his bowtie and the lot of it. "As you can see, I am completely clear of the disease and haven't melted. And no one else melted either."

"So where do we start?" Susan asked.

Digi-Doctor offered a shy smile. "Ah, Susan. Always right to the point and so concerned for everyone, especially her Grandfather. Right. Well, it all begins down where I told Jack and the others to dispose of the Dalek casing. It's not the systems we need, but the casing."

The program walked with the group down the stairs. A moment later, Jenny, having just woken up, joined them, rubbing her eyes tiredly. Everyone cast uncertain glances, but said nothing.

"Fascinating," the Doctor mused, putting a hand directly through the hologram. "I worked long and hard on this program, but could never get it quite right. It wouldn't stabilize."

"Oh, it was stable," the program replied conversationally. "Completely stable. Totally stable and usable."

"Did River fix it?"

"Hm…yes."

"Of course she did."

"Here we are!" the digi-Doctor exclaimed as they found the discarded casing.

"So then, what do we do?" Rose asked. "How do we create this…paradox? And what kind of paradox are we talking about?"

"John, shame on you for not explaining all this to your wife," digi-Doctor scolded.

"Doctor," River said.

"Right." He clapped his hands together. "The kind of paradox we need to create has only ever been attempted. And it's only succeeded once, this once. But only if you do exactly as I say. Now then, first we need a source of heat to melt the metal."

"So we are going through with the water-attracting-water plan?" Jenny wondered.

"Yes. Now then, heat source! You should find a small lantern in the stock and storage closet down that hall."

"A lantern?" Jack stated as Susan rushed off to find it.

"Yes, Jack. A lantern. Self, remove our shirt."

Susan returned with the lantern just as River took the Doctor's shirt, jacket, and bow tie.

"I still don't understand," Rose said helplessly.

John folded his arms and shifted his weight. "First we'll have to send the lantern—or, more correctly, a copy of the lantern, into the future, past this whole fiasco. That will create a form of Time Thread which will connect the two and fix the lantern in time between the two points."

" 'Scuse me, _John_, but I'm still the Doctor in the future," digi-Doctor said irritably. He huffed and continued. "But, yes, it will fix the lantern in time. Susan, take off the globe and turn up the lantern as high and as hot as it will go. Ah, yes, that's nice and bright and hot. Now set it on the ground and stand back."

Unsure of what was to come, the group moved to a safe five-meter distance.

"The Tardis is smart," River said, answering Rose's unasked question. "She knows what needs to be done."

The lantern glowed extra bright for only a moment, then went back to normal.

"It's safe now," digi-Doctor said. "The lantern has been successfully sent ahead."

"Can you show us?" Jenny inquired.

"Hm, well, she must have sent it farther ahead than we'd hoped. We still haven't found it yet. It will materialize in the same place in the future…eventually."

"What next?" Susan inquired.

"River, take and combine John's and my sonic screwdrivers." While she worked, digi-Doctor went on. "Susan, you have a steady hand; be ready with the lantern. Self, you may want to sit and find something to hold onto or bite on."

"I'll be fine."

"No, really, you will want to-"

"I'll be fine."

"My goodness, am I this stubborn all the time?"

At that, everyone paused what they were doing and replied, "Yes!"

"All right, they're done," River said.

"Good. Now, Jack, come here."

The captain approached.

"All yours, Doctor," he said, saluting.

"You've repaired that blasted time watch more than I would have liked, but it will serve you now."

"What do you need me to do?"

"I need you to make continuous copies of the lantern and send them ahead in time. _But_ they have to be one milli-second out of sync with the rest of the universe."

"How does that help?" Rose asked, feeling very foolish.

"Because the heat from this lantern in the present will combine with the accumulated heat from all the copies of the lantern in the future," Jenny explained. "And because the lantern materializes in the same exact spot from which it was sent, the present lantern will also gain heat, multiplying the temperature. But since we already locked the lantern into a future time, it can't melt or anything because that would create a paradox which would tear the ship apart."

"Very good, Jenny," the Doctor and digi-Doctor said simultaneously.

"Since when are you so well-versed in paradoxes?" the Doctor went on.

"Must be my Time Lord genes kicking in, understanding all this timey-wimey business."

Pride glittered in the Doctor's eyes as he knelt so Susan could reach the infected areas. He pursed his lips and set his jaw. "All right, let's do this. John, Rose, Jenny, bring the casing over; they'll have to be in contact for this to work."

"Five hours, Doctor," digi-Doctor warned. "You will want something-"

"No!" the Doctor barked. "I can take it! Jack, Susan, let's go!"

The captain and Susan glanced at each other momentarily, then moved in. John, Rose, and Jenny held the casing so it just brushed the Doctor's skin. A single bead of sweat snaked its way down the side of the Doctor's face. Jack tested the double-sonic briefly then nodded to Susan who touched the lantern between the infection and the casing. The Doctor bit his lip and River folded her arms nervously. Finally, Jack touched the sonic to the lantern. Digi-Doctor disappeared.

The Doctor screamed.


	21. Healing

About twenty minutes into the procedure, the Doctor managed to separate his mind so as to offset the pain. It stopped his screaming, but his nerves and reflexes still writhed in agony. River sat in front of him and let him hold her hands, but as the hours wore on, she couldn't deny her fears that he would unintentionally break every bone in her hands and wrists.

It was astonishing to watch the Dalek alloy get drawn out of his flesh, like being sucked out through a vacuum. The process started out slowly and the group wondered if it was having any effect, but was now noticeable and steady. The casing, supported alternately by John, Rose, and Jenny, looked quite a bit like a melted candle, with more wax bubbles leaking down from the drawn-out alloy.

"Only one more hour, my love," River told the Doctor, who was still kneeling, hunched over, his hands crushing hers, and every muscle taut.

"Actually," he sputtered through gritted teeth. "One hour. Three minutes. Thirty-seven seconds."

"How do you know that?" Rose dared inquire.

He sucked in a breath. "Because I feel it moving through and out of my body and the process is very steady, a simple mathematical equation. I just apply the formula and…" He sucked in a breath and barely held back a scream.

"Let him be," Susan told her. "It can be hard to maintain a separated mind through such torture. Basically, it's simple math. You take the density and viscosity of the alloy as it melts, apply-"

"Susan," River interrupted. "Not now."

"Right." She blushed.

A while passed.

"How much longer?" Jenny wondered. "It has to be getting close."

"Seventeen minutes," the Doctor reported. "Twenty-three seconds."

"From everything that's being drawn out, you'd think they were trying to turn you into a Dalek," Jack commented.

"Not bad enough they were attempting regenerating Time Lords," John scoffed as he took over for Rose. "Next they'll be after Dalek Time Lords."

He and Rose shot a glance at Jenny.

"What?" she wondered.

"Oh, nothing." John frowned and shook his head. "I was just going to say that I got this from here on out. You won't have to hold it. I mean, we've only got about fifteen minutes left, am I right, Doctor?"

"Thirteen minutes, forty-nine seconds."

"And you will tell us when we're almost done?" Jack confirmed.

"Captain, I'm not staying under this for longer than I absolutely have to. Besides, you'll know."

"How?"

But the Doctor had fallen silent again.

The minutes ticked by. The last report came at eight minutes, one second. Rose was just about to ask again, knowing at least five minutes had passed, when the Doctor's skin began to glow. The only infection left in him was a tiny point and whatever remained under the skin. The steady drawing-out now escalated as regenerative energy forced out the disease. John shifted the casing as it started to drip onto the Tardis floor, landing with an acidic _hiss!_ The energy worked harder and soon it was almost like the lantern wasn't needed. The Dalek casing was now not only in just-liquid form, it was melting down completely.

"John, drop it and get back," the Doctor order stiffly.

"What? But-"

"Get back! Susan, Jack, you get back as well. And you, River." He forced his hands to release hers. "All of you, back!"

"He means it!" River said, grabbing Susan and pulling her away. Jack backed up into a corner with Jenny, John, and Rose.

"Is he regenerating?" Jenny wondered.

"No," John said. "He's mentally taking revenge."

"Mentally?" Jack asked.

"Oh yes. Because I expect the physical revenge will soon follow."

The regenerative energy had forced the full infection out of the Doctor's body, but it wasn't done with it yet. The Dalek casing was now gelatinous sludge on the Tardis floor, bubbling and boiling like molten lava. As the group watched, the air around the alloy seemed to shake and shudder like an extremely localized earthquake. The metal continued to boil, harder and hotter, and the energy glowed brighter.

"Hit the deck!" Jack cried.

Everyone fell to the floor just before the regenerative energy released like a bomb, sending waves of energy through the room, superheating metal and cracking glass. It was all over so fast, no one quite knew what had happened.

The Dalek casing was completely gone; all that remained was a little sooty smudge on the floor where it had been. The cracked glass was beginning to repair itself and the superheated metal walls and floors were rapidly cooled so the room's occupants didn't fry. The Doctor stood slowly, slick with sweat and unsteady on his feet.

"Grandfather!" Susan cried gleefully, and ran to hug him. "It worked!"

"Yes, it did, Susan," he said wearily. "It certainly did."

River handed him his shirt and kissed him. "I'm proud of you, sweetie."

"What now?" Jack wondered as the Doctor thrust both arms into the sleeves and started on the buttons.

"Now?" the Doctor asked. "Now? What do you mean now?" He accepted the bow tie as it was handed to him. "Jack, we're in a time machine, 'now' does not exist. Neither does 'before' or 'after' or any of those silly things. The last five hours we spent in here were no hours at all."

"He's planning," John murmured. "Trying to send the fatigue into another part of his mind where it can be safely closed off and discarded, while he keeps his rage and thirst for vengeance tucked away, leaking steadily into a plan-"

"-to drop you off somewhere very cold if you don't stop giving everything away," the Doctor interrupted, glaring at him. "Come on!"

He led the charge up the stairs to the console room.

"We're going after the Daleks," Jenny stated as he began a frenzy of button-pushing and switch-flipping.

He looked at her with a dangerous glint in his eye. "Oh yes. We're going after the Daleks. The Dalek emperor, the Dalek scientists, the Dalek guards, the whole bloody Dalek fleet!"

He was alone on the controls as none of the other pilots had the courage to risk their lives in trying to help. But he didn't care; his blood was pumping, adrenaline rushing, mind racing, regenerative energy restored. Oh yes, they were going after the Daleks.


	22. Revenge

The Doctor made several smaller stops, instructing everyone to remain inside the Tardis. He was gone for less than five minutes each time, but never told anyone what he did while out. The scanner clearly indicated they were on a Dalek ship of the same fleet, but what he could be doing no one quite knew.

"All right, Emperor," the Doctor said finally, "here we come!"

The Tardis had hardly fully materialized before the Doctor led the charge into what turned out to be the same room where they'd been brought before the emperor. All the Daleks had gathered and the emperor was waiting.

"Doctor…" the emperor said harshly. "You escaped but have returned. Why?"

"The disease is gone, Emperor," the Doctor told him. "We found a cure."

"Impossible!"

"Oh, very, _very_ possible, I assure you. Do a bio-scan on me; you'll see that I'm right."

A moment later, a Dalek approached the emperor. "All scans confirm, the Doctor is free of the probe."

"Oh, there's more than that," the Doctor chuckled, grinning. "What else did those scans show? _Speak, Dalek!"_

The Dalek hesitated but continued. "Regenerative energy has been restored."

_"And…?"_

"It is fully functional."

Enraged to the point of delirium, the Doctor fearlessly strode up to the Dalek. "Oh, come on! Say it!" He bent down to look the emperor in the eye. "You Daleks claim no fear, but I saw and heard the fear when we took your Dalek decoy captive. 'No' he said! And now you fear to acknowledge your fears." Back to the full Dalek. "SPEAK!"

"The regenerative energy has been activated," the Dalek said quickly, fearfully. "It is building into a destructive force. If released, it will destroy the Dalek ship."

"Oh, not just the ship," the Doctor said, backing up. He spread his arms and the energy began misting into the air. All Daleks took an alarmed scoot back, at least ten feet. "The entire fleet. I planted tiny Threads in five ships, and those Threads will spread to the rest of the ships."

"Threads," the emperor stated.

"Time Threads, similar to the one you planted to lead me to my granddaughter. Except this time, the regenerative energy will consume and destroy the entire Dalek fleet."

The emperor laughed. "You would not do such a thing, Doctor. All records indicate your _mercy_ and _compassion_ and sense of _justice_ would not allow such a thing to happen, especially by your own hand."

"Oh? Maybe you'd forgotten, Emperor." The regenerative energy now flowed freely and the Doctor clenched his fists. "I fought on the front lines of the Last Great Time War. I sealed the War in Time. I slaughtered your kind, Emperor. And I would gladly do it again."

With that, he thrust his fists at the floor as hard as possible. The floor dented and there was some sort of internal explosion deep within the ship. Lights started sparking, fire cropped up. The ship shook unnaturally. Out the window, smaller ships were already on fire or exploding. The Daleks panicked, not sure what was happening or what to do.

"Into the Tardis!" the Doctor commanded, walking slowly back to the ship, head held high, strides long and confident.

No one needed to be told twice. The Doctor stopped at the door and took a last look around, his expression total satisfaction. His gaze rested on the Dalek emperor.

"Doctor…" the emperor said.

"What will you do now?" the Doctor taunted. "You've been destroyed."

The emperor laughed again. "You may have destroyed the Daleks this time, Doctor. But we always survive. You destroyed your own race, Doctor. Are you so lucky?"

The Doctor did not falter, did not stumble. He merely lifted his chin a little more and ducked inside.

No one made a move on the controls, merely stood around and leaned on the railing, watching him with expressions varying from horror to sorrow. He started on dematerialization and, once they were clear of the destruction, looked around at them.

"What?" he demanded.

"You killed them," River stated. "All of them."

"A bit like our relationship, wouldn't you say? You killed me and I come back. I killed them. They'll come back. Somehow, they'll return."

"That's not the point," Rose said. "Doctor, you sent John to me because he did the exact same thing. You…you wanted to see a change. But there is no change, is there?"

"Oh, there has been a change," Jack said resentfully. "He just can't see it."

"What are you all saying?" the Doctor hissed.

"Grandfather…" Susan whispered.

He softened and looked at her.

"Grandfather, this isn't you. This isn't like you at all. You…liked to figure things out, plan something that could make everyone happy in the end. But killing? No." He sighed and looked away. "Grandfather, since when did killing someone become an option?"

His head snapped back to her. "Susan, I-"

He never got to finish before his eyes rolled back and he collapsed. River, Susan, and John rushed to him.

"Regenerating twice has completely drained him," John said. "And he let down his guard where he'd locked away the pain from the drawing out. It overwhelmed him." He let out a steady breath. "He just needs to rest a while. Jack, can you help us?"

Jack and John carried the Doctor with Susan leading the way to his room. They laid him on the bed and left, the door clicking gently shut.


	23. Stop You

River found the Doctor alone at the controls the following morning, head bowed. She did not go directly to him, standing instead a small distance around the controls, leaning on the railing with arms folded.

"They were right you know," she said. "You have changed."

No response.

"You destroyed the Cyberman fleet in order to find a way to rescue Amy and myself. You destroyed the Dalek fleet for…what? Revenge against what they did to Susan? To Jenny? Or to yourself?"

"They deserved it," the Doctor said darkly.

"And what do you deserve, Doctor? Why are your actions so righteous?"

"I was saving the universe from an entire Dalek fleet." He didn't look up.

"And who is out there to save the Dalek fleet from you?"

"They don't need saving."

"But you do."

"The disease is gone, River. I'm fine."

"The probe is gone. But the disease remains."

He looked at her now, the last of the malice in his eyes slowly fading away. He opened his mouth to speak when his attention was diverted. Susan was walking down the stairs, her gaze intentionally averted.

"Susan…" the Doctor began.

"No, Grandfather," she said quietly, chancing a glance. "I understand."

It wasn't long before the others started trickling in.

"So, I guess it's time to go home," John commented.

The Doctor looked at him and offered a tired smile, all fourteen hundred of his years seeming to show through. "I never thought I'd hear a Time Lord say that."

"Former Time Lord."

"So then, River, Susan, we'll be making another jump into a parallel universe. What do we have to lock onto?"

Getting there was no trouble at all and when the door opened, they found themselves in a tiny living area. John and Rose stepped out and the Doctor couldn't help but take a peek. There was some ruckus in the kitchen and her voice came before her appearance.

"Rose! John! Is that you? My God, where have you been?!"

Jackie Tyler appeared around a corner. She stopped when she saw the box.

"You!"

The Doctor had to admit he was more prepared for a hug than the slap she threw, but he figured he was deserving of it. And it was so like Jackie.

"They've been gone a _week!_ What am I supposed to do for a week? At first I thought they might have taken an unscheduled vacation; God knows they need one with their little monsters! But by about the third day, I had my suspicions. You think that just because it's been five years that I haven't ruled out the possibility of your return? And look at you! You've changed! Again! Do you enjoy it? This changin' appearance every few years? Because I don't! And next time you want to take my daughter and son-in-law on a little space road trip, at last give me some warning so I can make preparations!" She didn't even take a breath before turning on John. "I'll bet you had something to do with this! Always goin' on, every time you come over for dinner. It's always Astericomilopilorious this or Fennerilora that! Always goin' on about these adventures you had and the things you did and wished you could do again, complainin' about time going in a straight line! I mean, your kids sound just like you! They got none of Rose in them, only you!"

"Kids?" the Doctor blurted out.

Jackie put her hands on her hips and gave him a look. "Yes, _kids._ Four and two, both of 'em for a week. And every day this place was a new planet with new monsters and they were always havin' all these adventures. I was getting' sick of it! Breakin' stuff and-"

"Mum," Rose said calmly, picking up a little boy. She looked at the Doctor. "Yes, Doctor, kids. You know, we'd always hoped to go out again, into the stars, I mean. But we never lost sight of what was happening in the 'now' which, out here, does exist."

"Oh." The Doctor looked downcast.

"His name's John, after his dad." Rose grinned. "And her name is Jenny, after, well, their half-sister."

"Doctor, we have to go!" River called from inside.

"Who is that?" Jackie wondered, peeping inside the Tardis. " 'Ello! Who are you, then?"

The Doctor cleared his throat. "Jackie Tyler, that is River Song, my wife, Susan Foreman, my granddaughter, and Jenny, my daughter. You already know Jack."

"Oi, River! You keep him in line, you hear me?!"

"I will, dear. Come on, sweetie!"

The Doctor glanced back at John and Rose.

"This one's all me, Doctor," John said. "You may not be their father, but maybe their uncle? Or godfather?"

The Doctor smiled. "I would like that. And I'll see if I can pop in every so often to check on them."

"Doctor!" Jack called.

"Good-bye, Doctor," Rose said. "Take care of Susan and Jenny. And River."

"I will." The Tardis started dematerializing. "Good-bye, Rose."

He shut the door and they vanished. Jackie, John, and Rose looked on for another moment.

"Was that the man from the stars?" John Jr. asked.

"Yes, John," Rose said. "He was."

* * *

"All right, Jack, where should we put you?" the Doctor wondered, regaining some of his usual pep.

"Anywhere will do, Doctor," Jenny replied.

"What do you mean?" He glanced at them as they headed toward the door together. "You're not going with him."

"And you're going to stop me? Being captured by Daleks, doing extreme-precision surgery, blowing entire fleets out of the sky, it's all a bit much for me for a while. But traveling the galaxies, seeing more of what's out there, doing some exploring, that's more what I like to do. And Jack's promised to show it to me."

The Doctor sighed heavily and left the controls. He stood face-to-face with Jack, staring him down. "You take care of her, Captain Harkness. No harm is to come to her." He glanced briefly at Jenny and lowered his voice. "And if it happens again…"

"You can count on me, Doctor," the captain assured him. "Nothing will happen to her."

"So can I?" Jenny asked hopefully.

"You may."

Jenny grinned and threw her arms around him. "Oh, thank you! You have to promise to visit!"

"I will."

"We've materialized," River reported. "Shouldn't be more than twenty minutes from when we left."

"Ready?" Jack asked.

"You know it," Jenny replied.

They bid the Doctor, River, and Susan farewell and departed.

"Now then, where do we want to go?" the Doctor wondered excitedly. "Family outing! I love it!"

"Actually," Susan said, "I'd like to just head back to Earth."

"Where to? Tower of London? Great Wall of China? What year?"

"No, I mean, maybe…just in my own time. I can tell you the time and date just before I used the teleport."

"You mean…leave?"

"Yes, I do."

"But why? We only just found each other."

Susan hesitated. "And we will again." She gave him a long look. "The Time War wasn't good to you, Grandfather. I can see that. And, maybe, I was wrong to think we could go back to the way things were before, when you were just a grumpy old man with inconsequential, devious little schemes. But, I can't stand to see you like this, so torn and weary."

"So stay with me. Help me, Susan."

"I can't, Grandfather. It's not a granddaughter's place, not this time. I think, you need someone. To stop you. But I'm not that companion, not yet."

He sighed. "You're right. What were those coordinates again?"

* * *

"And where am I dropping you off to?" the Doctor asked of River.

"Nowhere just yet," she replied, heading out of the room. "I still have to stabilize the holographic program so we can send it back to ourselves and ensure you get cured."

"Right, of course. And River…"

She turned.

He opened his mouth but for a long moment nothing came out. Then, "Call if you need any help."

She frowned but nodded. "I will."

Then she left him, standing alone at the console of an empty control room.

**The End.**

* * *

_Yes, this is the end, dear readers. Not a particularly happy one, but this is where we must part. I would like to thank all the lovely loyal followers, especially those of you who insisted on commenting after every chapter (and you know who you are); I really enjoyed reading them. Now we must say adieu._

_So, adieu._

_-Rihays_


End file.
